Hickersberger looks to induct youngsters

AFC – AMMAN, Bahrain coach Josef Hickersberger praised the work done by his predecessor, Milan Macala, but stressed the time is approaching for a new generation to come to the fore for the Persian Gulf* nation.

Hickersberger will lead Bahrain to the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 finals after replacing Macala in May following the country’s narrow failure to qualify for the World Cup finals, the second time in a row Bahrain had fallen at the final hurdle in World Cup qualifying.

But with many of those players now approaching the autumn of their careers, Hickersberger is looking to the future as the continental championship approaches.

“The team that Milan Macala had was a fantastic group, they had a lot of success and the job done by Milan was really a good one,” said the Austrian coach.

“We have to go in the right direction and, of course, you don’t expect the youngsters to take over right away but sooner or later we have to bring more fresh blood into the national team.”

Hickersberger, who led his native Austria at Euro 2008 and previously enjoyed a stint coaching in Bahrain, watched on Friday as a youthful version of his team lost 3-0 to Iran in the opening game of the West Asian Championships

But the 62-year-old is hoping his new employers are patient enough to allow him the time to freshen up the squad as the nation seeks to remain among Asia’s leading countries.

“Rebuilding the team is my main task and for that reason the Bahrain Football Association have sent for me because I have experience of doing this in Austria,” he said.

“I’m used to doing such a process and that task requires a lot of patience, not only from myself. It requires patience from the federation and from the fans.

“It could be a dangerous job but I’m old enough to know the situation that I’m in and I can handle it.”

* Wrong geographical term used by the-AFC.com’s Michael Church corrected by PFDC