Football chief backs ‘obsessive winner’ Ashley Westwood to lead Hong Kong resurgence

Technical director John Morling said “obsessive winner” Ashley Westwood was proving himself the right choice as Hong Kong head coach. Appointed in August, Westwood had a rocky start when he lashed out at critical supporters following October’s 1-0 defeat in Liechtenstein. That followed controversy around a team night out in Fiji the previous month, while some fans were unhappy over Westwood’s trips to Australia, where his partner is based, between international breaks. However, fears the Englishman would accumulate more frequent flyer points than ranking points during his tenure have been quashed. Hong Kong recovered from their Liechtenstein setback to beat Cambodia 3-0, and this month were particularly impressive in a 3-1 victory over the Philippines, before overcoming Mauritius 1-0 for a third successive win. The team climbed two places to world No 156 in the latest Fifa rankings, released this week, ahead of next month’s home East Asian Football Federation Championship (EAFF) qualifying tournament. Morling said there were “no issues” over Westwood regularly travelling to Sydney, despite employment rules dictating he spend 45 hours each week in the football association’s office. But sources have told the Post that the Hong Kong government, which pays Westwood’s salary, is uneasy about the amount of time the 48-year-old spends overseas. “He’s been staying here more and when he does go, it’s not like he’s not working,” Morling told the Post. “He’s obsessive in what he’s doing. Staff all have different characteristics, and different strengths and weaknesses. My job is to get the best out of them, [so they] deliver the best … for the players. “Anyone coming into an organisation has to learn what works and what doesn’t, what’s accepted and what’s not. It’s also different when you’re in a new country. “[Westwood] is an obsessive winner. A lot of people in those [senior coaching] positions are the same, it’s how they’re wired. You wouldn’t want a head coach who accepts losing.” Asked whether he was satisfied Westwood was the right pick to succeed Jorn Andersen, who quit in May, Morling added: “So far, so good.” Westwood hired Matt Holland as his assistant, although the Welshman’s Hong Kong future is unclear after he took over as Lee Man boss. Holland is expected to be by Westwood’s side for the EAFF games, after another assistant, Wolfgang Luisser, resigned this month to join Andersen at Yunnan Yukun. Morling said the addition of back-room staff was “negotiable as we move along”. “If we believe it could help us improve, we do it,” Morling added. “At the time [Holland was recruited], we were able to bring in a coach and he added value to what we do.” Next month, Westwood could become the first Hong Kong manager to win six straight matches since Kwok Ka-ming in 1985. The city team face Mongolia and Chinese Taipei in their EAFF qualifier group, before a potential final against either Macau or Guam, anchored at 193 and 203, respectively, in the global standings. Supporters have nailed their colours to the Westwood mast following the upturn in results, but neither a winning streak nor a pleasing style of play has encouraged more through the gates. Only 4,966 watched an excellent performance against the Philippines, and that figure dropped to 4,604 for the visit of Mauritius. “It was a brilliant atmosphere against the Philippines, so imagine how it would be if we could get 20,000-25,000,” Morling said. “It would be great to see bigger crowds … that would allow us to increase our resources and produce more players.” Morling said that there was no pressure from above to improve Hong Kong’s ranking in order to preserve critical government funding. “None of the staff need any pressure from the top – we put that pressure on ourselves to be successful,” he said. “The coaching team doesn’t treat any game like a friendly, but we are not wholly rankings driven. “You need context: Liechtenstein [204] are beneath Solomon Islands [148 and beaten by Hong Kong in September], but they have completely different games programmes. “We have to continue to produce more and better players. We want to professionalise everything we do, so that we have the best flights, travel, food, training facilities, coaches and staff – everything that supports the development of players and senior team performances.”

Football chief backs ‘obsessive winner’ Ashley Westwood to lead Hong Kong resurgence

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}HKFA technical director John Morling says the Englishman has won over supporters, and is eyeing city team’s best run for almost 40 years

HKFA technical director John Morling says the Englishman has won over supporters, and is eyeing city team’s best run for almost 40 years