PETALING JAYA: There are seven players with senior international experience in coach Ong Kim Swee's training squad but that does not mean they will automatically be included in the final list for the AFC Under-23 Championship in January.
Although he values the experience the seven players bring to the squad, national youth coach Kim Swee will not look at reputations as he wants to be fair to all 30 players.
"Of course, their experience of playing for the national team will useful to us," said Kim Swee at the team hotel on Wednesday.
"But even if you have that experience, without a positive attitude it won't be of any use."
Pahang right-back Matthew Davies is the most experienced member of the squad with 14 caps for the senior team but he is still recovering from an injury.
The others in the squad who have played for the seniors are Safawi Rasid (six caps), Syamer Kutty Abba (two), Adam Nor Azlin, Ahmad Khairil Anuar Zamri, Syafiq Ahmad and Ahmad Syihan Hazmi Mohamed (all one).
Kedah goalkeeper Ifwat Akmal Chek Kassim has trained with the national team under coach Nelo Vingada but has yet to make his debut for Malaysia.
"It does not matter whether they are national senior team members or not, it does not mean they will be automatically included," added Kim Swee, who gave Davies and Safawi their first cap when he was the national coach.
"They must still prove themselves like everybody else. This is the highest level of Asian youth football so they must show a positive attitude and want to perform at their best. That is my main criteria."
While Davies has the most caps, Kelantan goalkeeper Syihan was the first from this batch to play for Malaysia.
Syihan was only 17 when he was called up by then-national coach K. Rajagobal in 2013 and though he went in only in the 89th minute, he had an eventful time in the friendly against Palestine, conceding a goal before saving a penalty.
Syamer, Adam, Khairil and Syafiq all made their debut in the recent Asian Cup qualifiers against North Korea.
Meanwhile, the arrival of Tommy Mawat Bada took the number of players in training to 28 with only Davies and Syafiq still to report.
The players had a fitness test in the morning before undergoing a pool recovery session in the evening.