Kim Swee to use four Malaysia cup fixtures as platform to select players

National Under-23 squad coach Ong Kim Swee will use the Malaysia Cup competition which kicks off on Aug 20, as a platform to identify players for his National squad which is also known as Harimau Muda A. Kim Swee said he would be focusing on the first four Malaysia Cup fixtures to identify a number of players who will be roped into the squad before preparing for the Merdeka Cup competition in September and the Myanmar SEA Games in December. He added that though a number of players like Zubir Azmi (Terengganu), K. Reuben (ATM), Nik Shahrul Azim Ab Halim (Kelantan) and Mohd Nazmi Faiz Mansor (PKNS) were already on his radar, their selection would be based on their current performance. "Players who are under my observation would not mean they will be selected. I will base my selection on current form, especially when they play in the Malaysia Cup. "Those selected will be called up for training when the Malaysia Cup competition takes a break at the end of August," he told Bernama when contacted, here. The four Malaysia Cup fixtures that will come under the scrutiny of Kim Swee are on Aug 20, Aug 24, Aug 27 and Aug 31. The Malaysia Cup competition takes a two-week break to make way for the Merdeka Cup competition from Sept 4 to 15. "The players selected for the Merdeka Cup competition will most probably be drafted into the SEA Games squad which will be out to defend the gold medal in Myanmar," he said. The Harimau Muda A which is currently on a playing tour in Slovakia, are expected to return next Wednesday, in time to celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri. For the record, the Merdeka Cup which was last held in 2008 was won by Vietnam while the tournament was not held from 2009 to 2012.