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Robert Moreno, interim head coach of the South Korean national football team, greets reporters before a training session at Qatar University's training ground in Doha, Qatar, on Nov. 12 (local time). /Yonhap News Agency

South Korea's interim national football team coach Robert Moreno said he would focus solely on the two upcoming away friendlies in Qatar, rather than his uncertain future following the postponement of the Asian Cup.

Speaking at an official press conference at Qatar University's training ground in Doha on Nov. 12 (Korea time), Moreno said, "I'm trying to focus only on what I can control right now. I believe what happens in the future depends on what I do in the present."

"In that sense, the postponement of the Asian Cup does not change the way I do my job. I will focus on what I can do today and am not particularly thinking about what might happen in the future," he added.

Moreno, whose contract runs through Nov. 27, was originally set to be evaluated based on the results of six international matches, including four friendlies in September and October, to determine whether he would lead the team at the Asian Cup, which had been scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia in January next year.

However, the tournament's postponement due to instability in the Middle East has cast uncertainty over his future, raising the possibility that his brief stint with South Korean football could end after the matches against Saudi Arabia on Nov. 13 and Qatar on Nov. 17.

Addressing the uncertainty, Moreno said, "A coach can be dismissed at any moment, regardless of the length of their contract. That's why I don't worry about such things."

"Every morning, I take pride in being the national team coach, and I'm happy doing my job," he added with a smile.

Meanwhile, Moreno praised a joint statement issued that day by five national team players who pledged to rebuild teamwork following rumors of internal discord.

The players included the team's two members born in 1992, Son Heung-min (LAFC) and Lee Jae-sung (Mainz), and three born in 1996, Hwang Hee-chan (Schalke), Hwang In-beom (Porto) and Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich).

"It's positive that the five players discussed the direction they want to take the national team," Moreno said. "They are all people of good character, and they are thinking about and working toward how they can improve together to achieve the same goal."

"As their coach, I'm extremely proud that the players sat down face to face and talked things through like adults," he added.

                                                                                                           Cho Seong-jun