December 27, 2004

Barry Whitbread, the man who masterminded Singapore’s 1998 Tiger Cup triumph, believes the current crop of Lions are on the verge of further regional glory.

Currently Director of Recruitment at Liverpool FC’s Academy, Whitbread has kept a close eye on Singapore’s recent Tiger Cup exploits & firmly believes that Radojko Avramovic’s side can lift the trophy

Speaking from England, he said Singapore have a real chance of winning the Tiger Cup like the 1998 side as the current side also seems to have developed a great mentality & can handle itself in a tough atmosphere.

He recalled the players were very determined in the semi-final game against Indonesia, whom they will beat 2-1, because we were viewed as the weakest team in the semi-finals. Everything also seemed to be stacked against us like now with the pitch diabolical & we had to travel a long way from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh.

But to him that was just what makes the team stronger as they went out to prove all the critics wrong & he was proud of the players.

He said the win was special because the country had not won any international honours before.

Now with the situation almost similar as despite making the semi-final, the Singapore media & public are still at large skeptical & he feel the current side will react like the 1998 side making the team spirit stronger.