Heed history's lessons when picking the next Lions coach

Here we go again. The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) is searching for its fourth national head coach in six years after Tsutomu Ogura's resignation was made public on June 24.

- Deepanraj Ganesan

The next step will be the most critical yet for the FAS and comes as the first major test for its new president, billionaire Forrest Li and his leadership team.

Sure, there can never be a guarantee of success when hiring a new head coach (just ask the Manchester United hierarchy), but the FAS must do all they can to appoint someone who can give the Lions the best chance of flourishing.

Before Ogura's appointment, sources indicated that Park Hang-seo, who had led Vietnam to the Under-23 Asian Cup final in 2018 and the Asian Cup quarter-finals in 2019, had been available, but the FAS was unable to meet his salary demands.

But word coming out of its Jalan Besar headquarters now is that the best man for the job will be hired.

ST understands that Li's priority is ensuring that the Lions are best-equipped, something that he had intimated strongly during an internal town hall.

Even with increased resources, I hope the selectors remain level-headed. The temptation to opt for a headline-grabbing name—someone who dazzles because of his playing career—is strong.

But that path is a slippery slope.