It is dangerous to play defensively in Southeast Asia, and an overly cautious approach may have been behind Singapore's early exit from the 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup.
That's the opinion of Steve Darby, former double-winning coach with Home United in the S.League.
The ex-Thailand assistant boss added that individual errors contributed to Singapore's failure to make the semifinals of the biennial tournament. The four-time champions were eliminated after losing 2-1 to Indonesia in Manila last Friday.
"I think it's dangerous to play defensively in Southeast Asia as the players are not Italians, in terms of defensive skill," he told ESPN FC.
"It takes a great deal of concentration, and tactical discipline, to defend for 90 minutes, and in this region, players often make individual errors in the latter stages of the game, and you can be punished. It also doesn't leave much time to recover."
Singapore conceded late goals in AFF Suzuki Cup defeats to Thailand and Indonesia in Group A.
Darby was reluctant to cricitise Singapore interim coach V. Sundramoorthy, whose defensive and counter-attacking style helped Singapore's LionsXII win the 2013 Malaysia Super League title.
"I never criticise other coaches as we have enough enemies in the media, on Social Media, and in administration, without fellow coaches doing it," Darby said.
"It was obvious that Singapore were well-organised, and, hence, well-coached. The Singapore problems lie deeper than the coach because he can only work with what players he has. The best players for Singapore were over 30, so where are the next generation?"
Liverpool-born Darby, who has also coached in Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Australia and India, added that he considered goalkeeper Hassan Sunny, 32, and defender Daniel Bennett, 38, Singapore's best performers from an ill-fated campaign. But he was concerned about the lack of bite up front -- from a side who scored just one goal in three matches.
"It's a major problem for all Southeast Asian teams that foreigners are taking all the strikers' roles in the respective leagues," he said. "How can young, local strikers get game time?"
Darby, 61, worked under former England captains Peter Reid and Bryan Robson in the Thailand national setup between 2008-11. He also had current Thai boss Kiatisuk Senamuang as his assistant at the 2009 Southeast Asian Games.
The Thais, who are strong favourites to win a record fifth AFF title, play Myanmar in this weekend's semifinals, with Indonesia facing off against Vietnam in the other knockout game.