SINGAPORE - The Garena Young Lions have been dealt a blow just three months before the South-east Asian Games in August in Kuala Lumpur with the resignation of their head coach V. Selvaraj.

In a media release sent at 7pm, Wednesday night (May 17), the Football Association of Singapore announced that the former national striker has decided to step down from his post for family reasons.

Selvaraj, a former national striker who represented Singapore in the 1990s and was part of the 1994 Malaysia Cup winning team, said in a statement: “As much as I really enjoy working with the FAS management, technical colleagues including Technical Director Michel Sablon, National Youth Teams Head Coach Richard Tardy and other backroom staff, as well as this team of young boys, I have decided, after much consideration, to step down due to family reasons.”

Describing the Garena Young Lions - effectively the bulk of the national Under-22 team with many squad players slated to play in August’s SEA Games - as a ‘young but talented team’, Selvaraj said: “Our boys have done very well over the past few months and have been unlucky not to have secured better results against the professional teams in the league.

“I wish the FAS, including the GYL and SEA Games team, all the best.”

The GYL are currently bottom of the nine-team S.League with seven defeats and a draw after eight games. They have scored four goals and conceded 21.

The FAS also announced that Tardy will take over from Selvaraj and lead the GYL until the South-east Asian (SEA) Games.

Said Tardy: “We are saddened by Selvaraj’s decision to step down from his position but we respect his decision – especially in view of his reasons.

“He has been a good colleague, both on and off the field, and I personally hope that he will make a return to the coaching fraternity soon.”