Cklamovski backs young stars to shine for Malaysia after senior camp stint
KUALA LUMPUR: National coach Peter Cklamovski assured that the five young players released from the Harimau Malaya camp remain key to his long-term plans, as focus shifts to Thursday's friendly against Cape Verde at the KLFA Stadium in Cheras.
The Australian confirmed that Aiman Hakimi Othman (20), Alif Ahmad (22), Shafizan Arshad (20), Haykal Danish Haizon (20) and Abu Khalil (20) have returned to their respective teams after gaining valuable experience in the senior camp in Johor Baru.
Cklamovski said the quintet are being groomed for the future and are likely to play crucial roles in the national youth team's campaigns at the AFF Under-23 Championship (July 15-31) and the AFC Under-23 Asian Cup qualifiers (Sept 1-9).
"We take it as a positive. I spoke to them after training," said Cklamovski.
"They learnt a lot from this week - the environment, the players, our sessions. The benefit is that they can take that with them to improve in the long term."
The Australian was impressed with the youngsters' attitude and adaptability.
"They've done outstandingly well. They've trained well - impressive young talents, which I knew they were - but they adapted to our intensity," he said.
"That's something they mentioned to me too, that the intensity was much higher than expected. But they responded well.
"I believe in them, and I look forward to watching all the Under-23 players progress and push hard to earn senior team spots."
Cklamovski explained that the decision to release the players was due to high competition for places and his commitment to selecting based on form and professionalism.
"I select teams and squads based on performance, mentality, professionalism and work ethic. If they continue to give their best and perform at their highest level, there's no reason they won't be called up again."
Harimau Malaya will face world No 72 Cape Verde, a team with several European-based players, in Thursday's friendly, followed by a second match behind closed doors at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on June 3.
"We want to play against a tough opponent. Cape Verde are world-class and have great players from Europe.
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