“There is a lot of groundswell for us to retain the current coach. All I can say at this point is that it is a nice, nice problem for us to have. And that also depends on what Gavin’s own plans are, we have to respect whatever his plans are.”
Lee joined the national team in March 2024 as part of then Lions head coach Tsutomu Ogura backroom staff. He eventually became an assistant to the Japanese tactician. When Ogura departed in June, Lee was appointed interim head coach.
Mr Ong also paid tribute to Ogura. “He is in constant communication with Gavin and myself,” said Mr Ong. “I cannot underestimate his contribution to us.”
Aside from the achievement, Mr Ong stressed the importance of “patience” and “humility”.
“I hope people are savvy enough to understand that even if we had not won yesterday, we are making progress, we feel, in the right direction,” he said.
“The basic message doesn’t change from us. I still advocate patience and humility … We ask that fans continue to be patient with us, we ask that we manage to maintain a certain degree of humility such that we will continue to be open to anybody and everybody who wants to contribute to Singapore football.”
But for now, the players will enjoy the moment, and savour what the significance of what they have achieved.
“You can see that football actually means a lot to people in Singapore, the nation,” said Tan.
“It brings everyone together.”