KUALA LUMPUR - Norizan Bakar has been sensationally axed by Malaysia’s football authorities despite his side earning plaudits galore during a narrow 2-0 AFC Asian Cup defeat to Iran on Wednesday.

An emotional Norizan told reporters that he had been told of the decision before the Iran match, an encounter that followed a 5-1 defeat against China as well as a 5-0 drubbing by Uzbekistan, results that were clearly beyond the pale for those in power at the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).

The former Perlis and Penang boss, whilst philosophical about the news, was adamant that he had been poorly treated.

“I have been told by the FAM that my assignment as national team coach has come to an end at the Asian Cup,” the 46-year-old said.

“I was told prior to the Iran match and I must say that I think the decision is unfair as I have always tried my level best to achieve things with the personnel that I have at my disposal.

“You know, my training is as a teacher and I know full well that when a student fails I do not then immediately have to stop teaching. Having said that, this is football. In coaching there will always be hiring and firing and football is all about results and because of that I have to accept the decision.

“There now have to be solutions found to the problems. There were definitely problems in terms of our preparation for this tournament. Problems though are meant to be solved."

Despite finishing bottom of Group C, Malaysia’s performance against the might of group winners Iran, especially in the face of recent criticism, delighted the departing Norizan.

“With all the criticism and all the humiliation thee has been, the morale of the players was very low going into this match, in fact it was going from bad to worse. I therefore have to take my hat of to them. They showed real guts in the way they played," he said.

“I suppose nobody wants to be criticised. It was very hard for the players to play here. I have to say that the players showed their true selves tonight in terms of team spirit and togetherness.”

Norizan also revealed that his player’s much improved display was proof that the Malaysian team needed to be supported even if they continue, for the time being at least, to struggle against the big hitters of world football.

“A game like we had tonight shows that Malaysia needs to be supported. After the two looses and all the criticism the players were very down. But they bounced back," he added.

“Look we have nothing to lose by playing these bigger teams. We must learn from our experiences,” he added before leaving to a standing ovation." Thursday, July 19, 2007 at 9:11 AM