Sundram defers decision until after Malaysia Cup campaign

SINGAPORE — LionsXII and national Under-23 coach V Sundramoorthy has decided that he will only discuss his future with the Football Association of Singapore when his team’s Malaysia Cup campaign finally comes to an end.

The 47-year-old had told TODAY last week that he would tell the national body whether he will be accepting their offer of a contract extension by the end of the week. However, when contacted yesterday, Sundram, whose current two-year contract will end on Dec 31, revealed that he has since changed his mind.

“I will get back to the FAS after the LionsXII’s Malaysia Cup campaign is over,” said Sundram who has led the Malaysian Super League (MSL) champions into the quarter-finals of the Malaysia Cup.

“Yes, I had told the FAS that I would give them an answer regarding the extension of my contract by the end of September.

“However, I have since decided that since the LionsXII are in the midst of the Malaysia Cup, my priority is the team. Other decisions can wait until the Malaysia Cup is over.”

Although Sundram is keeping mum about his future plans, TODAY understands that the former international has already made up his mind to turn down the FAS’ offer and join the Negeri Sembilan Football Association as their new coach for next season.

In turn, the Negeri Sembilan FA wants him to start work as soon as possible to prepare the team for next season’s MSL and scout for foreign players.

It means that Sundram will not be able to lead the national Under-23 team for this December’s South-east Asian Games in Myanmar.

When contacted yesterday, the FAS maintained that it would like to renew Sundram’s contract and added that it had earlier offered him a competitive and attractive package.

“Coach Sundram had earlier informed us that he will let us know of his decision by the end of September. However, he has since requested for another week to consider the offer,” said an FAS spokesman.

When asked if the delay would affect the national U-23 team’s preparations for the SEA Games, the FAS replied: “Coach Sundram is one the key members of our technical team which has been tasked to prepare the U-23 team for the SEA Games competition since January this year.

“As National Teams Head Coach, Bernd Stange has also been working closely with the SEA Games 2013 technical team, including Sundram, since his appointment in mid-May.

“We are pleased with the progress of our Under-23 players over the past nine months and the technical team will continue to optimise our preparations for the biennial competition.”

It is believed that the FAS has lined up Courts Young Lions coach Aide Iskandar as Sundram’s replacement if the latter decides to decline the offer of a new contract.