Bahrainis pledge support to Macala.

Byline: PATRICK SALOMON

BAHRAIN football officials last night pledged their unconditional support for national team coach Milan Macala, putting to rest speculation over the future of the popular Czech tactician.

In a meeting with the national Press at the Bahrain Football Association (BFA) offices in Riffa last night, BFA president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa quashed claims that Macala is soon to be sacked after failing to guide the kingdom past New Zealand and on to next year's Fifa World Cup finals in South Africa.

Shaikh Salman added that Bahrain football is pleased with what the 66-year-old has been able to achieve in the past two years he has been in charge, and he is eager to see Macala continue his fine job in the national team's other endeavours.

"Our coach is doing well for us," Shaikh Salman told the GDN. "He brought the team from the first qualification phase to the final round, and then all the way to the last match. We should not look at it in a negative way.

"We must let him continue the job he has started. He has a contract which expires in June next year, and we are honouring it. I hope that when that time comes, we can come to an agreement to extend it."

Shaikh Salman called for an end to allegations that Macala is to be blamed for Bahrain's unsuccessful bid at World Cup qualification. Macala alone cannot be held responsible for the national team's shortcoming, the BFA boss said.

"If we have a whole team of players who did not perform well, the coach is not to be blamed," said Shaikh Salman, who was speaking in the presence of BFA vice-presidents Shaikh Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa and Ahmed Al Noaimi.

"Macala and his staff prepared the team the best way they could. But the pressure was there. Maybe the players were tense knowing that it was our last chance to qualify; who knows? We cannot point any fingers. We must now look ahead because we cannot change what happened in the past."

Shaikh Salman said that he expects some changes to be made to the national team, but nothing so drastic that the squad would be unrecognisable the next time they take the pitch.

"If there are some adjustments needed to be done, then it's up to our coach and his staff, but we cannot make any dramatic changes. There is no need. We were just one step away," he said.

Changes

"We will always make changes gradually. Our aim is to keep a healthy mix of experience and youth, and the coach and his staff will always choose the best possible squad. I am sure that after what happened in our last match, they will re-evaluate the entire situation because if they've been let down, then we and all of Bahrain have been let down as well."

Shaikh Salman also called on Bahrain football's supporters not to turn their back on the national team, who he said had no luck in both the legs of the final playoff against the Kiwis.

"We apologise for how it ended, but it's not like we did not want to win; it's not like we did not do everything we could have done," Shaikh Salman said.

"In football, we need to have luck. We were not lucky when we were playing here in Bahrain; we were not lucky playing there, especially with the penalty we had which would have put us back in contention.

"This is football. We cannot just give up. We have to continue trying and fighting, and we have to be stronger now more than ever before. And who knows, maybe the third time we'll reach that far, we'll be lucky. But we have to keep trying.

"Today we can say we are maybe the fourth or fifth best team in our confederation. To reach this point was not easy, and to stay here will be even harder, and we will need everyone's support."

Copyright 2009 Gulf Daily News

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