Coach blames injuries for Caroliners' woes
South China head coach Chan Ho-yin has no intention of quitting despite the growing disappointment of fans over the club's form in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup.
The Caroliners have earned just one point from their first two games in the regional competition and fans started calling for Chan's head on South China's official website after they lost 3-0 to Chonburi of Thailand last week.
'The fans always make judgments on results and never ask the reasons behind [the results],' the coach said. 'My job is to prepare the team well so that the players can deliver on the pitch, and I am doing my job properly.
'But unfortunately the team have been seriously hit by injury problems and I have had a limited choice of players for the last couple of matches.
'Against Chonburi, we might have finished the game with a 1-1 draw if we had kept defending after conceding the first goal. But instead, we chose to press hard for the equaliser and after we missed a couple of chances, they scored the second and third goals in the final 10 minutes.'
The coach was pleased their match against Citizen in the FA Cup quarter-finals was called off at the weekend, allowing his long casualty list more time for recovery. Hong Kong internationals Ng Wai-chiu and Xu Deshuai are improving, while forward Tale Schutz may also resume training next week.
'Xu's return will give us more attacking options and I hope he's fit for the rescheduled tie against Citizen on March 31,' Chan said.
South China take on TSW Pegasus in the League Cup final on Sunday, followed by that FA Cup game. Three days later, they meet arch-rivals Kitchee in a potential league title decider before returning to the AFC Cup, where they still have four more group games.
'With more and more players getting back from injury, we can show the fans the real South China. There is no problem with the team's morale and confidence, we just need a full squad.'
Mateja Kezman and Nicky Butt, meanwhile, sat out yesterday's training session. 'They don't have any serious problems,' Chan said. 'Kezman has some reaction on his knee after training on the hard surfaces in Hong Kong, while Butt missed the practice just for precautionary reasons.'
