Coach Lê Huỳnh Đức remains patient with Tiến Linh

Despite a prolonged slump in performance, Tiến Linh still receives encouragement from Coach Lê Huỳnh Đức. In the context of Ho Chi Minh City Police Club's struggling form, the coach's trust is the last pillar for the 1997-born striker to regain his form.

Tiến Linh is proving himself to be a testament to the harsh realities of football.The 1997-born strikeronce received acclaim for goals that brought success to both his club and the national team, but now pressure is mounting on the 29-year-old player.

From a striker expected to peak in his career,Tiến Linhhas fallen into a 15-match goal drought across all competitions, a number that would worry any forward.

Since scoring against Nepal in October 2025, Tiến Linh has not celebrated a goal again. Not only at the national team level, but also in V-League and the National Cup, the name once considered the top hope of Vietnam's attack is now feeling lost. Notably, this is the period when Tiến Linh enters age 29, an age where many forwards reach their peak performance.

In that context, Coach Lê Huỳnh Đức remains very patient with his student. He not only defends him but also shares from his own past experiences. That includes a forward who also had periods of not scoring, times when Coach Lê Huỳnh Đức faced difficulties in his playing career.

The manager ofHo Chi Minh City Police Clubused Tiến Linh sparingly in the last two matches. The club captain played only one half, as a way to "release pressure" rather than burden him with scoring. But even when on the field, Tiến Linh's connection with teammates was almost nonexistent.

Coach Huỳnh Đức also frankly acknowledges that he cannot separate Tiến Linh's form from the overall picture of Ho Chi Minh City Police Club. His team is facing a series of problems with ineffective foreign players, a lack of creativity in midfield, and a defense constantly making mistakes.

Two consecutive defeats with a total score of 0-7 against Thanh Hóa and Hải Phòng reveal the inconsistency of Ho Chi Minh City Police Club. Patrik Lê Giang, once a defensive pillar, also made errors, and overseas Vietnamese Khoa Ngô has been identified and has gone two matches without scoring.

Coach Lê Huỳnh Đức and his players have 26 points and are in 6th place, still with a chance to compete for top 3, but erratic performance makes all ambitions fragile.

In that situation, Coach Huỳnh Đức urgently needs his stars to speak up at the right time. Tiến Linh, Khoa Ngô, Patrik Lê Giang, or the foreign players cannot all remain silent at this decisive point of the season.

A forward can be "silent" for a long time, but can also explode back at any moment. Coach Huỳnh Đức understands and expects his strikers, especially Tiến Linh, to have the resilience to overcome this difficult phase.

From the beginning, the club chose this forward to be captain and built the playstyle around him. If he does not soon return to his true self, Coach Lê Huỳnh Đức may also struggle to maintain his faith in Tiến Linh.