Forget social media for a while, Cheng Hoe tells players

This is to ensure the minds of all the Harimau Malaya squad players were best prepared to face the Group G competition in the second round of the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers/2023 Asia Cup 2023 which was now increasingly more challenging after the defeat.

He said the every action of a professional football player, whether on or off the pitch, was always being observed and would not escape criticism.

But, he said, every player now had a choice to ignore the negativities and only take in the positive in order to move forward.

"My advice to the players is to set aside the social media first, what's important is to focus on the coming match because maybe negative words will continue to affect the player morally.

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"So, this is why we must avoid it and we must focus on what will be taking place in the match against Vietnam," he told a virtual media conference on the national squad's training session in Dubai, today.

The Harimau Malaya squad were roundly criticised by the local supporters following their lackadaisical performance when they fell at the hand of UAE in the Group G action of the qualifying campaign in Dubai, last Friday.

The latest naturalised player, Guilherme De Paula became the main target of the supporters who criticised the lacklustre performance of the players under Cheng Hoe after the 34-year-old Brazilian-born failed to showcase the hoped-for quality at the match played at the Zabeel Stadium.

Nevertheless, Cheng Hoe said as a professional player, De Paula must overcome it and bounce back with a more convincing performance.

"He (De Paula) appeared sad and stressed after the match, but De Paula had played football for a long time, he knows how to overcome the matter. He must get back his self-confidence and rise to the occasion in the coming match," said Cheng Hoe.

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The 53-year-old chief coach said that it was not right to place the blame of losing to UAE on the shoulders of a small number of players as football is a team game.

"We should not only blame De Paula and Liridon (Liridon Krasniqi), but the whole team ...we cannot blame any one player a 100 per cent," he said.

In the meantime, Cheng Hoe said there was an upbeat atmosphere in the national squad again with the players showing a positive attitude in their training sessions in the run-up to the match against Vietnam at the Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai next Friday (June 11).

He said only defender Junior Eldstal could not follow the training session after sustaining a serious ankle injury in the match against UAE and the national squad's medical team was striving to give the best treatment.

"Indeed, many were of the opinion we need a major reshuffle after losing to UAE. But we have four to five days to make preparations. We are studying the factors in the team's loss. We are still seeking the best strategy to face Vietnam," he added.