Harping on the success attained by the Lions in previous editions of the AFF Suzuki Cup is not helpful ("A Lion's share of problems for S'pore" and "What's next for the Lions?"; both published on Nov 27).

To be fair, Lions caretaker coach V. Sundramoorthy has achieved success by moulding the team's defence to be near-impregnable, particularly against stronger opponents or when the situation warrants him to do so, such as when we were down to 10 men against the Philippines ("10-man Lions force draw"; Nov 20).

By and large, it was the infusion of foreign-born talent that saw Singapore achieve success in the 2004, 2007 and 2012 editions of the AFF Suzuki Cup.

For almost two decades, the Singapore team has not seen capable replacements in its strike force.

The current situation is in stark contrast to the situation in the 1980s and early 1990s, when Singapore did not have a shortage of attacking midfielders and strikers.

Players such as K. Kannan, Ahmad Paijan, Fandi Ahmad and Sundram himself put Singapore on the football map.

With Singapore now having a solid defence, the coaching team and football officials must work towards nurturing a potent group of strikers.

Irwan Jamil