KUALA LUMPUR – Harimau Malaya midfielder Brendan Gan has full confidence in the national football team under the leadership of head coach Kim Pan-gon.
The Selangor captain said he would not hesitate to play a different role if instructed by the coaching staff, as they have the technical expertise to make crucial decisions.
“If the coach wants me to be a goalkeeper, I am the type of player who would do it.
“This is because the coaching staff have done so much homework on each player, and they know all our attributes.
“If the coaching staff say we can do better if we play in a different position, we have the full confidence that we can do it, because they know what’s best for us,” he said today at the pre-match press conference ahead of their second Group B match against Laos for the AFF Cup.
For the match tomorrow, Brendan said the team is not too concerned with how Laos will be coming into the game. The focus, he stressed, would be more on how Harimau Malaya can perform at their best.
“We are not worrying about how Laos play and their system at the moment; we just need to execute our own game plan well.
“We have the best background staff that you can get. So we leave it to the technical team, and they have analysed the Laos team.
“From that, we can see that they are very structured in their system.
“Most importantly, we have to respect the team, because there is no such thing as an easy team in this tournament,” he said.
The 34-year-old player added that their 1-0 win against Myanmar on Wednesday showed the team’s resilience during tough times.
“The boys came together and stayed as a unit to grind out results. It was a strong point for the team, especially when not everything is going in your favour.
“It was very positive to see the team stick together and manage a tough situation well.
“We can say that it was difficult, but we went there for the three points and that is what we did.
“The coaching staff gave us a game plan. Some worked and some didn’t, but a sign of a good team is their ability to adjust and react when something isn’t working,” he added.
Brendan also shut down critics that have pitted players against each other for the national team call-up.
“We have a great 23-man squad. When one player goes out and another comes in, they do just as good a job.
“We have faith in each other, and even throughout the season, every player who puts on this badge deserves to be here,” he said.
Earlier, Laos head coach Michael Weiss said his side is unsure on how to approach tomorrow’s match as Pan-gon has been switching up tactics in recent matches.
After facing Laos tomorrow, Harimau Malaya will take on Vietnam away on December 27, followed by their final Group B match against Singapore on January 3 at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium. – The Vibes, December 23, 2022
