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

SINGAPORE – The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) announced Gavin Lee as its men’s national team coach at a press conference at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Nov 28.

The 35-year-old, who steered the Singapore national team to a historic Asian Cup qualification after taking charge of the last three qualifiers as interim coach, has been appointed on a permanent basis on an 18-month contract.

After three consecutive foreign hires, he will be the Lions’ first permanent local head coach since V. Sundram Moorthy in 2016.

Looking dapper in a navy blue suit and tie, the bespectacled Lee, who was seated next to FAS president Forrest Li, said: “It is truly an honour and privilege to be able to sit in front of everybody today to address you as the men’s national head coach.

“But me sitting here, this is a consequence of the hard work of many, many individuals so it’s not just my work alone. Without the commitment, the hard work of the staff like the technical team, the medical team, I wouldn’t be sat here today.”

Lee also thanked a host of individuals who have supported him on his coaching journey and were also at the press conference. They include his parents, FAS deputy president Desmond Ong, his former youth coach Kadir Yahaya and JSSL football school managing director Harvey Davis.

Asked what assurances that the FAS is prepared to give the Lions coach, Li said: “Eveything we are doing now is to optimise for the Asian Cup.

“Whatever happens in between, there will be no knee-jerk reaction. I asked Gavin what is his wish list and told him it will be considered.”

When asked about his wish list, Lee said it is “not complicated”, adding: “We look at the preparations logically. We look at what we need to give the players the best conditions to go out and do what they want to do, or what they need to do, and so it’s just about finding arrangements that would facilitate that.

“And yeah, we’re not going to unveil all secrets today, but in general, that’s the idea. We want to find the best possible arrangements to facilitate an environment so that our players can succeed.”

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

“We didn’t set out to hire a local coach,” Ong 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 themselves, 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.”

On his goals, Lee said they are “never set by one person”. He added: “So it’s a conversation between me and the boys and 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.

“Same with the Asian Cup. I’m sure when we arrive there, I’m sure the boys want to give the best showing that they can possibly give. And like I’ve said many times before, one of the main intentions is to give the people in Singapore a national team that they can be proud of. So that is the underlying goal.”

Adding that he would not have dreamt of being in this position, Lee said: “Life is full of surprises and here we are and I’m truly grateful and I appreciate the moment.”

After completing the Asian Cup qualification campaign with a home match against Bangladesh on March 31, Lee’s first major assignment will be the 2026 Asean Championship, which will take place from July 24 to Aug 26.

He had assumed the role of interim coach in June, after then Lions coach Tsutomu Ogura of Japan resigned due to personal reasons. Lee had served as assistant coach to Ogura during the Japanese tactician’s stint.

As interim coach, he helped 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.

Lee 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.