Should Gavin Lee be Singapore’s Next National Coach?

Singapore’s dazzling run to the Asian Cup has resulted in calls for Gavin Lee to be made the permanent Head Coach for the Singapore National Team.

The decision lies with the FAS, and is the singular most important decision that it has to make.    Appointing a manager on the basis of recent results is always tempting (eg Ole Gunnar Solksjaer).  But the more important question is to ask what is the mandate – ie what is to be achieved in what period of time and with what resources.  At the core, the FAS must be clear what is the project desired and then turn to the right man for the job. 

The Singapore National Team that played Hong Kong was not one that was formed overnight.  The names of Izwan Mahbud, Shah Shahiran, Ryhan Stewart, Harhys Stewart, Glenn Kweh, Ilhan Fandi, Amirul Adli, Akram Azman and Jordan Emavime were not regulars in the National Team at the start of this cycle.  They are all certainly regulars now.   Safuwan Baharudin came back into the National Team after a long absence because of medical reasons.  Throw in also the name Kyoga Nakamura who finally became a Singaporean.  Throw in Jacob Mahler who featured before, but has only just recovered from a horrendous injury.  In short, the National Team has undergone nothing short of a transformation.  This was the project given to Tsutomo Ogura at the start of the cycle. 

At the end of the last World Cup campaign, the Singapore National Team finished with one of the oldest squads ever, an average age of 29, certainly the highest in ASEAN.   A clear mandate was given to Ogura to aggressively bring in younger players.  The previous squad had reached the end of the cycle.  We had the confidence that Ogura could do this because he did this when he was in Tokyo Verdy.  Their team in Year 1 was very different from the one in Year 2 in J2.  In Year 2, Verdy won promotion. 

Blooding young players is painful.  They have to be fielded even if they are not 100% ready. They take minutes away from more experienced players.  In friendlies, there will be times where there is wholesale substitutions, disrupting the flow of the game.   To help the coach do this, we removed the obsession with FIFA Ranking points. The unsaid words were “It is ok to use friendlies to develop players.”  Ogura grabbed this with two hands.  It was very usual to see Ogura play a weak squad at the start of friendlies and then change it up in the second half.  He ceded an entire window playing international matches in favour of a training camp in Japan.  He was criticised for this.   Some of the losses in friendlies were tough to take, especially a home loss to Nepal.  He was criticised for this too.  But if we are to be consistent, this is part of the process. 

We told him we judged him on the teams’ performance in tournaments.  He took Singapore to the semi-finals of the AFF, and when he left earlier this year, Singapore was top of the Asian Cup Group.   In the process, a new Singapore team emerged.   

When the new FAS leadership stuck with Gavin, it was an endorsement for the continuity of this project.  Gavin had worked with Ogura for more than a year.  They spoke highly of each other and were of the same mind.  Gavin was familiar with the squad and them with him.  He chose to keep the same squad till the end of the qualifying phase.  The foundation for this campaign was put by Ogura, the finishing touches by Gavin. Credit to both, especially to Gavin and the FAS in laying the base for him to do so well in the last few months.

But what is the mandate if Gavin is to be the coach for the next phase?  In the next 14 months, there are two tournaments.  The AFF takes place in the middle of 2026.  This is now officially a FIFA tournament with all players will be released.  This will be a far stronger tournament and Gavin probably deserves to bring the team to the AFF with a target of equalling or surpassing what has been done in 2024. 

But it is the AFC Asian Championship in Jan 2027 that worries me.  In qualifying for the first time, Singapore will struggle no matter who is the coach.  We are the lowest ranked team to qualify for the Asian Cup.   Our opponents in the Group phase will all be in the top 100 given the seeding pots.   Singapore will do well to secure a point or score a goal in Saudi Arabia.   I do not want Gavin destroyed because of this. 

Gavin is a young coach with lots of promise. As a local, he gets Singapore completely. He cannot be set up to fail.  So, if he is to be appointed, he must be protected.  He must be given a clear set of expectations and Gavin should only take the job if he feels that the expectations are within his capability to deliver.  At the age of 35, there is no shame for him to say that he has plenty of time to continue to hone his art, and possibly to learn much more from someone who has something to teach him.  There will also be another cycle of renewal at the end of the Asian Cup in 2027.  And perhaps at that time, Gavin may be an even better coach for Singapore.