Interim coach Norman Fegidero Jr. and Jarvey Gayoso of the Philippine men's national football team after a press conference on Tuesday. Handout/PFF-PMNFT

MANILA -- Days before entering the 2024 Merdeka Cup, the Philippine men's national football team saw a major development as head coach Tom Saintfiet left for the Malian national club.

The Philippine Football Federation also said in a press release Tuesday that there were also "late dropouts of some key players."

READ: Coach Tom Saintfiet leaves PH men's football team for Mali

Despite this, interim head coach Norman Fegidero Jr. remained enthusiastic about the country's chances in the Malaysian tournament while acknowledging that preparing the squad is a "big challenge" for him.

Fegidero also revealed they only have one day of training as they face host Malaysia on Wednesday evening at Bukit Jalil Stadium.

"Our first training is today. My job is how to make this team competitive. It’s a unique situation, but I believe in them. We’ll give them a good fight. We want to win. We’re all on the same page. We want to win, for our fans of course," Fegidero said in a statement.

“We’re in a very unique situation. The team arrived yesterday and other    players will arrive this afternoon. It's a big challenge for me on how we prepare the team," he went on.

READ: PFF appoints Freddy Gonzalez as director of national teams

Players' familiarity with each other will play a role, said Fegidero.

"All of the players are excited to play here in this Merdeka Cup. We've been together for a long time,  so the players are familiar with one another. I think we can play a very good game."

Echoing Fegidero's sentiment, Jarvey Gayoso said he isn't that worried about the lack of training time.

"Most of the guys here, we’ve already met and we’ve played with one another. So right now, we’re just preparing ourselves mentally for the game tomorrow," he said.

A triumph over Malaysia would mean the country will face the winner of the Lebanon-Tajikistan match on Sunday.

A loss, however, would mean that the Nationals will be relegated to the bronze medal match.

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