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Malaysian coach remains defiant despite criticism

Embattled Malaysia coach Norizan Bakar yesterday insisted he still had official backing despite strong criticism from soccer chiefs over the heavy Asian Cup defeat to China.

Norizan, who is gearing up to face Uzbekistan on Saturday, shrugged off comments by Football Association of Malaysia deputy president Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah over the co-hosts' "shameless" and "inept" 5-1 loss.

"In this country it's normal -- when you do badly you get a lot of criticism and unpleasant comments," Norizan said. "We have to admit it wasn't a very good result for the first match. We need to rise to the occasion in the next match and do something better."

The goatee-bearded Norizan, 46, has had mixed results since taking over in 2005 but he said he still enjoyed the support of Football Association of Malaysia vice president and team manager Anifah Aman.

"The manager was with us last night and we talked about it. We're glad he understands the situation. When one of the top people is with us that's motivation also," Norizan said. "Nobody wants to be associated with a losing team, that's okay. But it's also motivation for the players to do the opposite in our next match and prove the critics wrong."

Norizan, who said he would make changes to his line-up for the Uzbekistan match, said Malaysia were desperate to avoid further embarrassment.

"I'm sure everybody's unhappy with the way we performed. As players and as human beings we don't want to be humiliated day by day so as a team we need to rise up and give a positive approach in the next match," he said. "I think we have a better game plan. We just want to do something and hope that the game plan will work out."

Key center-half K. Nanthakumar, surprisingly benched against China, said Malaysia's main aim was to avoid finishing last in Group C.

Fellow hosts Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia all have a good chance of reaching the quarter-finals.

"We need to get a few points. We need three points here or a draw against Iran," Nanthakumar said.

Malaysia are a former force in regional football, qualifying for the 1972 and 1980 Olympics, but are playing their first Asian Cup since 1980.
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