Vietnam senior and youth teams’ head coach Park Hang-seo confirmed that he will indeed manage both the sides this season, stating that he is ‘not a quitter when under pressure’.
Explaining his decision to continue coaching both the teams, Park revealed that he asked for a five-week preparation time for the upcoming 2019 Southeast Asian Games, which he was granted. His aim, as he stated, is winning the gold medal.
“I told them to give me a five-week-preparation time and I will try to win the gold medal, because in the U23 tournament last year, I also had five weeks to prepare before it kicked off. And since my request was granted, I agreed to coach both teams,” Park said.
“It surely puts pressure on me. I have been through four big tournaments so far and none of them have been easy. They have all been very tough. But I always try my best to complete the goals that have been set. I’m not a quitter when under pressure,” he added.
The Vietnam head coach had taken the U23 team to the final of U23 AFC Championship last year and helped the senior side win the AFF Suzuki Cup as well. When quizzed about offers from other nations, Park said, “I’d rather not answer that question. I really love Vietnam.”
The Golden Dragons begin their AFC U23 Championship qualifiers against Brunei on 22nd March, the team for which will be announced on 20th March. Indonesia and Thailand are the other two sides in their group.