PHNOM PENH, May 11 — National Under-22 football squad head coach E. Elavarasan has blamed their failure to make the 2023 SEA Games semi-finals on the haphazard manner the players were "collected and brought to compete”.

Elavarasan, who is also the assistant head coach of the senior squad, said this was in contrast to the thorough preparation the other teams underwent ahead of the biennial Games.

"Some teams came here well prepared. For Malaysia, what we did was that we only gathered them and brought them (here)... match after match we improved but we lost when all we needed was a draw, so that made a difference.

"So, it’s a valuable experience we gained here. To our Malaysian fans, we apologise for not taking the team into the second round. We also want to thank the fans for always cheering and supporting the team, as well as the associations and clubs who helped by releasing the players,” he said.

He said this at a post-match press conference after Malaysia thrashed Singapore 7-0 in their last Group B match at the Prince Stadium here.

Commenting on the game, he said Singapore did not field their best players and that affected their performance to the point that his Harimau Muda players converted every opportunity they created.

Meanwhile, Elavarasan said the coaching staff will discuss and study the team’s weaknesses so that they can iron out the flaws.

"We have to see where our weaknesses are, where we should develop and where we can move forward,” he said.

Elavarasan’s side finished third in Group B with six points from four games to finish behind Thailand and Vietnam to miss out on a place in the semi-finals.

Malaysia last won a medal at the SEA Games in the 2017 edition in Kuala Lumpur where they clinched silver and the last time Malaysia won gold was in the 2011 edition in Indonesia. — Bernama