Hong Kong’s new football coach Ashley Westwood has 3 aims and a warning for players, staff
Westwood begins tenure with ‘back-seat’ role as team tackle Solomon Islands and Fiji, hoping to begin a climb up the rankings
The Hong Kong men’s football team’s incoming coach Ashley Westwood said he saw vast scope to improve on predecessor Jorn Andersen’s “unfinished business”, and vowed to kick out anyone not up to the task.
Englishman Westwood, who was appointed last week, is taking a “back-seat role” for a tri-nations tournament in Fiji, in which Hong Kong face Solomon Islands on Thursday then the hosts on Sunday.
Assistant boss Wolfgang Luisser – placed in caretaker charge when Andersen quit for mainland Chinese club Yunnan Yukun in May – is leading the team for both games.
Westwood said he would “get rid” of players who did not reciprocate his work ethic, and was giving existing coaching staff a chance to impress but was willing to jettison those he felt were “not doing the job”.
The local football association has tasked Westwood with raising Hong Kong’s world ranking – presently a lowly 159 – and qualifying for the 2025 EAFF Championship and 2027 AFC Asian Cup finals.
“Football is about timing, and there is room for improvement here,” said Westwood, who led Afghanistan for nine months before taking the Hong Kong role. “You wouldn’t want to follow Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, for example.