KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 —  National striker Amri Yahyah has backed interim national coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee to take on the role full time.

Amri, who scored the winner in Malaysia’s 1-0 World/Asian Cup qualifier victory over Timor Leste on Tuesday — said Harimau Malaya players “felt comfortable with Ong”.

“It is easy working with him,” said Amri upon arriving from Dili on Wednesday night.

“The ball is in FAM’s (FA of Malaysia) court. The decision is theirs, I am just a player. I hope their choice will benefit the team.”

Amri, who captained Malaysia after Safiq Rahim, was ruled out  with the yellow card he received against  Saudi Arabia, said he does not aspire to hold on to the captain’s armband.

“He is always our captain. It is not easy to replace Safiq,” said Amri.

“To be honest, we faced a hard time without him against Timor Leste. Luckily, we managed to overcome them and win.

“Hopefully we can keep the momentum going and win our next game against Palestine.”

Amri and Co will travel to Hebron for the Nov 12 match. They lost to the Paestinians 6-0 at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil in June under previous coach Dollah Salleh.

Dollah quit after the embarrassing 10-0 loss to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Abu Dhabi last month.

Meanwhile, Ong urged players to keep faith after returning from Dili with three points.

Despite their seemingly vain hope of qualifying for the 2019 Asia Cup, Ong believes Malaysia — on four points from five matches — can pressure third- placed Palestine and win in Hebron.

Tuesday’s win helped Ong’s men leapfrog their opponents to fourth in their five-team group.

The top three qualify automatically and Malaysia are now only a point behind Palestine, albeit having played a game more.

Saudi Arabia lead the group on 12 points followed by UAE on seven. 

“The win makes our path easier. Our chances of qualifying just got brighter,” said Ong.