Gavin Lee aims to ‘leave Lions shirt in a better place’ after being named permanent national coach

SINGAPORE – At just 35, Gavin Lee now holds Singapore sport’s most scrutinised job and while his age may raise some eyebrows, the man in charge is unfazed as he takes the hot seat.

Looking dapper in a navy blue suit and tie, the bespectacled Lee was officially unveiled by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) as the head coach of the men’s national team in a press conference at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Nov 28. The Straits Times understands that he has been appointed on an 18-month contract.

Asked about those who questioned his age, Lee – who steered the Lions to a historic Asian Cup qualification after taking charge of the last three qualifiers as interim coach – pointed to how it was the same when he became the Singapore Premier League’s youngest permanent head coach at the age of 28 in 2019. He led them to the Singapore Cup title later that season.

“I started at BG Tampines Rovers at 28 and people asked the same questions but like I pointed out back then, my age is relatively young, but I started coaching way back,” he said in an interview with ST shortly after his unveiling.

“And so in terms of coaching hours, I’ve accumulated quite a bit, and at the same time, I invested quite a lot of time and resource into improving myself over the years and so I feel calm... And so age is never an issue.”

Lee, who started coaching as a teenager and holds a sports science degree from Nanyang Technological University, also pointed to how he has come through the lows in his career which have made him a better coach.

Taking charge of Tampines’ AFC Champions League debut campaign in 2021, the Stags lost all six group matches in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, with only one goal scored and 27 conceded.

It was a bruising experience as they finished behind group winners and South Korean giants Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, runners-up Gamba Osaka of Japan and Thailand’s Chiangrai United.

Those nights in Tashkent were “really, really tough”, he said.

“But now looking back at the fact that I was able to overcome those difficult periods with the support of Desmond Ong (current FAS deputy president and then Tampines chairman) and many people around me, it’s only made me stronger. It’s only made me a better coach,” he added.

Lee, who is the first permanent local Lions coach since V. Sundram Moorthy after three consecutive foreign hires, was chosen by the FAS after a global hunt that started after Japanese tactician Tsutomu Ogura resigned owing to personal reasons in June.

FAS president Forrest Li said the decision to hire Lee “is more from the heart than from the head”.

“I think Gavin just won my heart and won the search committee’s, our players’ and fans’ heart. There’s a tremendous support gathered behind Gavin and he deserves it,” added Li.

“In my life, actually most of the best decisions are the decisions (from the heart). Sometimes, you need that kind of judgment, that kind of intuitive sense, right? And I feel I have a strong sense of that from Gavin.”

Li, the founder of home-grown tech firm Sea Limited, also confirmed that the $2 million bonus the Lions received for Asian Cup qualification came from his own pocket. He added that the FAS is prepared to back Lee even if he faces challenges ahead of the Lions’ 2027 Asian Cup campaign, assuring that there would be no “knee-jerk” reaction.

ST reported in July that a host of names such as World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro and former Liverpool winger Harry Kewell were on a shortlist compiled by the FAS. The process saw two men – former Tottenham Hotspur assistant coach Nick Montgomery and ex-Iraq coach Jesus Casas – fly in for face-to-face talks with Sport Singapore and FAS officials.

Ong, who led the process to hire a coach alongside FAS general secretary Badri Ghent and Li, said they had shortlisted 67 coaches, spoke to about 20 of them and ultimately decided that Lee “is the best person for the job”.

“We didn’t set out to hire a local coach,” he added. “The fact that he’s a local, it’s a bonus to us.

“I think one big set of stakeholders will be the players themselves. And if you speak to the players, it became increasingly evident that they wanted Gavin to remain as coach.

“And I think their voices should be the loudest, because for those of you who know professional sport, if the players want to play for the coach, that is really half the battle won.”

Stressing that they had gone through a “thorough and comprehensive” search, Badri said the FAS “genuinely had world-class profiles who were interested in the position of the national team head coach”, but ultimately Lee got the nod after leading the Lions to the 24-team continental showpiece.

Lee, who had served as assistant coach to Ogura during the Japanese tactician’s stint, had taken up the interim role in June after Ogura’s departure and led the Lions to two wins (both 2-1 away over India and Hong Kong) and a draw (1-1 with India at home) in three competitive matches.

He has the honour of being the first coach to take the Lions to the Asian Cup via a successful qualification campaign. The only other time Singapore took part in the continent’s football showpiece was when it was hosted here in 1984.

On his goals, Lee – who confirmed to ST that he turned down overseas offers to take the Lions role – said the main intention is to give Singaporeans a national team they can be proud of, adding: “It’s a conversation between me and the boys to see what we want to achieve as a group, and knowing these boys, they’re all competitors, they’re fighters, they’re winners.

“They want to win, and I’m sure they want to do better than the previous (competitions). That’s how progress is made. That’s how we leave the shirt in a better place.”

ST also understands that current national team staff such as assistant coaches Mustafic Fahrudin, Noh Rahman and Kosei Nakamura as well as head analyst Satoru Okada will continue to work alongside Lee as part of his backroom staff.