Embattled Malaysia rule out Withe as coach

Malaysia has shot down reports they were planning to hire Englishman Peter Withe but said they may turn to a foreign coach in a bid to reverse their steady decline.

“Definitely, Withe is out. We have never considered him to be our new coach in the first place,” Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) general secretary Azzuddin Ahmad told AFP.

A local newspaper Thursday said Malaysia were eyeing Withe, adding that the former Thailand coach would soon fly to Kuala Lumpur for talks.

The report conflicted with comments from team manager Soh Chin Aun, who backed current coach B. Sathianathan to keep his job despite Malaysia's humiliating early exit from the AFF Suzuki Cup.

At that tournament, Malaysia beat Laos 3-0, but lost to Asian Cup quarter-finalist Vietnam and host Thailand.

Malaysia has sought the services of at least 10 foreign coaches over the past five decades including Frenchman Claude Le Roy and Hungarian Bertalan Bicskei.

FAM will discuss the situation at a meeting on Monday, chaired by its president Sultan Ahmad Shah, ahead of next month's Asian Cup qualifying rounds.

“It is up to the FAM president to decide if Malaysia will stick to the present local coach or hire a new foreign coach,” he said.

Azzuddin said he was unaware if there were any foreign coaches Malaysia was considering.

“I do not have a list of possible foreign coaches,” he said.

Malaysia has fallen a long way since the heady days of the 1970s and 1980s, when they regularly beat Japan and South Korea and reached two Olympics and two Asian Cups.

The national side's disintegration has been blamed on poor management, cronyism, corruption, a lack of government support and the absence of any grassroots nurturing of talent.