SINGAPORE — Tsutomu Ogura, a former assistant coach of Japan’s national football team, looks set to be named as the head coach of the Singapore national team, sources have told CNA, after Takayuki Nishigaya was sacked from the role.

If confirmed, this would be the third consecutive Japanese coach to take charge of the Lions.

Ogura, 57, was a former assistant coach of the Japanese national team (2006-2010) and Olympic team (2010-2012).

Following those stints, he worked at several Japanese clubs, but his last role was at Tokyo Verdy where he was also assistant coach.

The team finished third in the J2 League last season, and won promotion through the play-offs to the top tier of Japanese football.

The club said earlier this month that Ogura has left the club.

On Monday (Jan 29), the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) announced the sacking of Nishigaya. 

It came after a string of dismal results, the most recent being losses to Thailand and South Korea that rooted the Lions to the bottom of their World Cup qualifying group.

Describing the recent performances and results of the national team as "below expectations", FAS said on Monday that an "early transition to a fresh successor would re-energise the team and allow a longer runway for the national team to prepare for important matches in the next few months and the year-end AFF tournament".

The timing of the sacking, less than two years after the Japanese was appointed head coach, was reached after “careful consideration”, FAS said.

Like his predecessor and compatriot Tatsuma Yoshida, Nishigaya took over the Lions hotseat in 2022 despite having no prior experience in coaching at the international level.

But while Yoshida led Singapore to the AFF Suzuki Cup semi-finals in 2021 — the first time in nine years that the team had reached the last four of the regional tournament — Nishigaya struggled to win over fans and critics.

His stint got off to an ignominious start just three games in as Singapore fell 1-0 to Tajikistan in June 2022, ending the team's hopes of qualifying for the 2023 edition of the Asian Cup.

The Lions also failed to get out of the group stage at the 2022 edition of the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup. CNA