Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Revington: Forget past for better future..

PAUL Revington wants to put the past five months in cold storage, as he looks forward to working hand-in-glove with his coaching staff to hand Malaysia the Asia Cup gold medal.
  At a meet-the-press session yesterday, the South African attributed his decision to quit, then return to the fold, to culture shock.
  "I had a fantastic working relationship with the coaching set-up here until the Champions Challenge (in Argentina last December) but after that, like in any marriage, problem after problem arose for the next five months.
  "I never experienced such situations when coaching South Africa and then Ireland. So it came as a culture shock and the fact that something that should have been resolved in about three weeks took five months, was also a major bane for me," said Revington.
  And now that the 'marriage' is back on track, he did not want to dwell on the past.
  "To do that (talk about those who gave him problems), will only make the problem bigger. And now that all the matters have been put to rest, I again look forward to working with the other coaches and officials, and win the Asia Cup gold in Ipoh," said Revington.
  He also pledged to see through his contract, which will expire in 13 months. The South African was hired in August last year after Malaysia failed in their bid to qualify for the Olympics in Dublin.
  "I will not leave, no matter what happens until I see through my contract, as I am much wiser to the coaching scenario here. The focus will be fully on the job at hand, and if any problems arise along the way, I now have a better understanding on how to solve it.
  The contract is for two years, with another option to renew for another two years.
  In the Asia Cup, on Aug 24-Sept 1 in Ipoh, Malaysia are in Group A with Taiwan, Pakistan and Japan, while Group B consists of South Korea, India, Bangladesh and Oman.
  None of the Asian teams have qualified for the World Cup and so, the single ticket in Ipoh will see an intense battle.
  As for Malaysia the coach, like always, has a winning mentality which will hopefully rub onto his charges in the next few weeks.