SEPANG, Sept 7 — National head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee admitted that the absence of four stalwarts in the National team was sorely felt in the 0-3 loss to Indonesia last night.

Kim Swee admitted that the team for disorganised due to the absence of Aidil Zafuan Abd Radzak, S. Kunanlan, Amirulhadi Zainal and Safiq Rahim, the four senior players who quit the National team recently.

"They were the stalwarts of the team. With their absence I had to make several changes but making such changes at the international level is not easy.

I hope they can make a comeback,” he told reporters after arriving at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, here today.

The 46-year-old coach has only two remaining friendly matches against Singapore and Afghanistan, to prepare for the AFF Suzuki Cup in November.

"It’s not a crisis, but to handle this matter and overcome the weakness of the team will not be easy because time is not on our side. I have only two matches — against Singapore and Afghanistan — to overcome weaknesses and strengthen teamwork.

"The four defenders I fielded last night — Ronny Harun, Mohamad Fadhli Mohd Shas, Matthew Thomas Davies and Mohd Azrif Nasrulhaq Badrul Hisham — were playing together for the first time in an international match and lacked international exposure, thus looked nervous.

"I have many times stressed that the defence is the most important area and understand we lost by an unacceptable margin but the reality is we need experienced players,” he said. — Bernama