SINGAPORE — Singapore national hockey coach Solomon Casoojee has sent a stern reminder to his players that he is in charge, after witnessing some of his charges act out of turn during their 6-1 defeat against the Malaysian Under-20 squad in a friendly match at the Sengkang Hockey stadium yesterday (May 11).

The result was Singapore’s fifth straight loss in a week to their opponents from across the Causeway as part of final preparations ahead of next month’s South-east Asian (SEA) Games, with the Malaysians winning the first four encounters 2-1, 7-0, 5-0 and 4-2.

With tensions running high on the pitch following this latest defeat, Casojee revealed that certain players had “stepped out of line”, but declined to elaborate.

However, he insisted he would be taking a firm stance to restore order within the team.

“A lot of guys seem to have an opinion at the moment and everybody wants to have their say,” said the South African. “So we need to make it clear that ultimately there’s only one boss here and when I say something needs to be done, it has to be done.

“It’s a fine line, but sometimes the younger players need their heads slapped a little bit and they’ll be back in the mix, so I think we’ll be alright again by next week.

“It’s better that we get this issue sorted out now than at the Games itself but I’m sure the team will be better for it.”

Malaysia, which have won every gold medal in men’s hockey at the SEA Games except in 1973, are favourites once again to extend that remarkable record. And they showed their class by taking a commanding 4-1 lead at half-time, before two more strikes in the second-half sealed the win. Singapore’s solitary strike came from Ahmad Faris Johari’s first-half goal.

Singapore are aiming to go one better than their silver medal finish at the last SEA Games in 2013 in Myanmar, where they were trounced 5-0 by the Malaysians in the final.

As part of Sport Singapore’s “Final Push” programme, 10 players from the Republic’s 18-man squad have been able to train full-time since July last year, and despite the losses to their neighbours, Casoojee was pleased with the progress made by his players.

“The entire team is so much fitter and stronger now. We are able to make each game a contest, although we still need to cut on out certain silly mistakes,” he said.

“But we definitely are better conditioned and have more presence in the game. Also, we now know what needs to be done in order to get on top of the Malaysians and make a real go for the SEA Games gold.”