Interim Lions Head Coach Gavin Lee Tests Fresh Options Ahead of September Friendlies

Read Time:4 Minute, 39 Second

Balestier Khalsa winger Ignatius Ang kicked off his twelfth season in the Singapore Premier League with a crucial equaliser off the bench to snatch a point in their away clash against Albirex Niigata (S) last Saturday. Despite being fresh off the back of his most productive season (10 goals, four assists), the 32-year-old has always been mindful of the need to “set his sights on plans after football”.

Juggling his work as a football coach and property agent with his league commitments, Ang had said in an Instagram post at the start of the season, “Enjoy every moment as if it’s your last”.

But a phone call a few days later gave him yet another moment to savour.

“I received a call in the afternoon from (team manager) Eric Ong… In that moment, I was thinking about so many things, I did not hear the whole message, I was just too excited,” Ang said, adding that he even had his doubts on the veracity of the call.

“I was a little bit suspicious. I thought it might have been a prank call.”

Balestier’s Ignatius Ang takes part in the NT training for the first time – Photo: Firdaus (Grandstand)

The initial excitement of making the provisional national team squad for the upcoming September international window had to wait as Ang was thrown straight into his first training session the next day.

Still, he will carry the same mindset that has guided him throughout his journey.

“The next few days are significant for me. I’m just going to try my best and leave nothing behind. At the end of the day, if the coach feels I’m not ready or don’t fit into the plan, that’s okay. We’ll go again another time,” he said.

But the winger’s qualities has long caught the eye of interim national coach Gavin Lee, who highlighted his impressive attacking output last term.

“We know his qualities, he’s quite good in those small spaces and helping contribute to the team’s build up. And so we just want to see him how he does in this environment here,” Lee said.

Also making the 25-man shortlist, that will be whittled down to a final squad on Sunday (Aug 31), is Albirex Niigata (S) captain Jared Gallagher.

Earning a recall to the national fold after being on the bench for last March’s World Cup qualifier against China, the defensive midfielder returns “eager to prove a point”.

All smiles at the Kallang Football Hub as 25 local SPL players gather for localised training – Photo: Firdaus (Grandstand)

“I’ve always played with a chip on my shoulder, and this camp more than ever, I really want to show that I deserve to be here and make the final squad,” he said.

The 23-year-old has grown tremendously since his first call-up, playing for three different SPL sides (Tampines Rovers, Balestier Khalsa and Albirex) since.

“Since then, I’ve played in big games for Tampines. I took the move to go to Balestier on loan, and then I played every minute when I was there under coach Peter (de Roo). That gave me a lot of confidence to know that I could walk into that team with confidence and fight for every single minute… Now, to move to Albirex and to be given a leadership role when I’m a new player on the team, it’s given me a lot of confidence to know that I’m doing the right things and that I’m getting some recognition for it, which is always a nice feeling,” he said.

But the wait to be recalled has been an agonising one, Gallagher admits.

“It’s been a tough period being away, if I’m being perfectly honest. Watching from the sidelines as people are getting called up and knowing that I want to be there desperately has been really difficult. It taught me a lot about patience and perseverance and to just keep working hard.”

And so his second time at centralised training with the national team is an opportunity that he wants to make the best of.

“I still have a lot of learning to do, and that’s one of the best things about this experience. To be alongside players who have played at a really high level overseas or even locally, it’s about taking all of that in stride. But also, sticking to my guns and realising that as long as I keep doing the things that got me here, I will be able to show what I am able to do,” Gallagher said, adding that his immediate goal is to make the final squad for the international window.

Gavin Lee takes charge of the centralised local training at Kallang Football Hub – Photo: Javier Peh (Grandstand)

With a tricky away tie against Malaysia and a closed-door friendly against Myanmar lined up, Lee hopes the matches will provide key experience for his side to gel ahead of the AFC Asian Cup qualifier double-header against India in October.

“In the national team we get so little time together, so every extra minute is a bonus. Our job is to try to maximise every single minute we are here in camp. The games give us 180 minutes or so of playing together and that’s always a bonus because once you arrive into October there won’t be any kind of pre-games before that. These two games are what we need to make sure we try to arrive to October and as good of a shape as we can.”