Defiant Malaysia football coach refuses to quit

Defiant Malaysia coach Norizan Bakar on Tuesday refused to contemplate quitting after his team's disastrous Asian Cup, despite admitting even the best psychologists can't help his players now.
Norizan said he was concentrating on the final match with Iran on Wednesday, when the co-hosts will attempt to salvage some pride after their 5-1 and 5-0 maulings by China and Uzbekistan.
"At the moment I'm only thinking about the match against Iran," the coach said.
The displays have left Malaysian football in disarray with the sport's deputy president stepping down along with two independent council members.
The New Straits Times back page Tuesday ran completely black with the sombre headline "Malaysian football R.I.P" after Sultan Ahmad Shah, who has led the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) since 1984, rejected calls to quit.
Norizan said he was doing his best to prepare the team to face Iran but admitted morale among the players was rock-bottom.
"With all the criticism and all the humiliation I don't think the best psychologists could help the team now," he said.
"I just told the players it's part and parcel of football. We have to face it and maybe it will make us stronger."
He admitted Malaysia had no hope of beating Iran, the triple champions who are seeking a hatful of goals to guarantee top spot in Group C.
"Everybody's expecting Iran to go all out on us," Norizan said.
"We have to be realistic -- we can't win against Iran but we have to make sure that they don't score too many goals."
The Asian Cup has shone the spotlight on Malaysian football's steady demise blamed on poor management, cronyism and also corruption.
Malaysia were once a significant force in regional football, qualifying for the 1972 and 1980 Olympics and two Asian Cups.
But they have been in decline and entered the Asian Cup -- their first since 1980, and thanks to being co-hosts -- as the lowest ranked team at 149.
In May, the FAM was embarrassed over the botched attempt to organise a Manchester United visit during the Asian Cup, flouting an agreement with the Asian Football Confederation.
Malaysia has also been hit by bribery scandals with more than 100 players banned for life in the mid-1990s and a Malaysian betting ring caught tampering with floodlights during English Premier League matches in 1999.
Public disillusionment has been highlighted by dreadful attendances for the Asian Cup, with only a handful of fans turning out for Malaysia's second match.

tunku : i don't want to add any more critics on FAM as it's an open book so everyone knows about it. i would just like to comment on our attitude, we always give up before we fight, we don't have the spirit to fight the heart out of us. just look what norizan bakar said that we know that we can never win over Iran, i know we have to be realistic but we should always give courage to the team that we can do it if we want it.it seems that the coach is preparing the team just not to concede to many goals, so i suggest lineup all the players in front of the goal, you'll succeed in your mission not conceding to many goals.