'While there is life, there is hope'...

(Baonghean.vn) - These days, the Nghe An football team's camp is covered with a quiet, heavy and sad atmosphere. Many players are down, and if they surrender soon, it will be the biggest sadness for Nghe An fans.

The final whistle of the match with S. Khanh Hoa BVN sounded, none of the SLNA players could stand up. Nguyen Manh, Phi Son, Manh Hung - the pillars of the Nghe An team were probably the ones who felt the most helpless. Even the tears of the center back Manh Hung fell, stinging.

It was only with the encouragement of fans and coach Nguyen Duc Thang that the 1993-born central defender was able to get up and quietly walk away. Meanwhile, Nguyen Manh and Phi Son sat still in the technical room and were also the last ones to return to the team with their backpacks. Since joining the SLNA first team, they had never experienced such a bitter defeat.

Center back Manh Hung and tears of disappointment.

Up to now, SLNA has never been an easy team to bully. But in the 2016 season, Hai Phong, Ha Noi T&T, Than Quang Ninh or teams that were not highly rated such as Sai Gon FC, S. Khanh Hoa BVN, XSKT Can Tho all defeated SLNA easily. Even teams like QNK Quang Nam, Long An, HAGL, coach Ngo Quang Truong and his team had to work very hard to earn 1 point. Never before has SLNA's defense been so unstable and fragile. There has also never been a season where SLNA's domestic and foreign strikers played so badly and were so unlucky.

At the end of the 2015 season, SLNA said goodbye to Quang Tinh, Hoang Thinh, Dinh Dong, players who were at the peak of their careers. Among those names, Quang Tinh was the one that left the most regrets. And one of the mistakes of SLNA's coaching staff was to helplessly accept the departure of an important player like Quang Tinh.

Coach Ngo Quang Truong is under a lot of pressure after a series of unstable results this season.

But with a team spirit like this, if SLNA had not failed to welcome Van Binh back, or kept Quang Tinh at Vinh Stadium, would SLNA have improved? Once the team cannot set a clear goal, more than anyone else, the players must set goals for themselves to strive for. That is to affirm the club's tradition and strive for themselves.

According to experts, the only strength that gives SLNA an advantage is their fiery spirit, but now it is the weakness that is most easily exploited by other teams. Not only failing to inspire the players, SLNA's coaching staff also made certain mistakes in calculating and improving the players' physical strength.

After losing to S. Khanh Hoa BVN at home, coach Ngo Quang Truong admitted: “We know where we stand and in the remaining matches, we will try to overcome this difficulty together and improve our position on the rankings. This season, Vinh Stadium is less crowded than previous seasons, but no matter how much or how little, it is still a source of encouragement for us. The players have tried their best and there is no other way, we must regain the trust of the fans in the remaining matches.”

When all the faith and hope for SLNA’s rise is placed on the “big battle” against Hanoi T&T this weekend, SLNA fans understand that, even though SLNA may lose, what they want is the will to win, the passion, the true identity and tradition of the Nghe An team. It will be very difficult for SLNA to be relegated, but losing the faith of the fans is much more frightening and worse than having to play in the First Division next season…

Hoai Hoan