Westwood said he had “nothing against [Lau] personally”, adding the striker did not have a permanent black mark against his name.
Nonetheless, the head coach, whose team are unbeaten in eight matches, pointed out that none of his predecessors had chosen the centre-forward, who scored his side’s only goal in their 3-1 FA Cup final defeat at the hands of Eastern last weekend.
“But suddenly it’s all on me,” Westwood said. “I prefer the lads I’ve picked over him. It looks from our results that I might be making good decisions, which help us, and I stand by what I’ve done.
“We’ll judge the [chosen forwards] on the next two games, if they don’t play well, the door opens.
“I’m aware most players who do well in the Hong Kong Premier League are eligible for the Chinese Super League, or China League One, and get moves … plenty of clubs haven’t signed him, so maybe it’s not all about my opinion.”
Another forward, Kyle Lau Ka-kiu, was broadly considered a left-field selection. He spent most of the 2024-25 campaign in California for the final year of his economics degree, and played only five times for Lee Man.
“It’s a coach’s preference,” Westwood said. “Scoring goals is great, but it’s not the be-all and end-all, it’s not build-up play, physicality, physical stature, winning headers, or running down channels all the time.
“I understand [Lau Chi-lok] sticks out in Hong Kong football … but we have all Kyle’s data and physical attributes. I’ve been in football I feel I’m in the position to make those decisions.
“If I’m losing games, there will be questions. If I’m winning I don’t understand the questions or why people get annoyed when I don’t do things they want.”
While Lau Chi-lok has a slender physique, the 34-year-old Spain-born Bleda adds presence and power.
“He’s experienced and has good physicality, he took time to come back from his injury and has looked sharp,” Westwood said.
The coach said another striker, Matt Orr, was unlikely to recover from his hamstring injury in time for India.
Vas Nunez’s inclusion in the squad was another red rag to a bull for disgruntled supporters, after the defender, who is without a club and has been training with Eastern, played two games in the past 21 months because of injury.
Westwood, however, said Nunez was there purely to “reintegrate an important, vocal figure”, and he would not play in either match.
Oleksii Shliakotin, the goalkeeper, had been brought in “so we can see what type of character he is … we have a good team spirit and dynamic, and are wondering if he can enhance that”.
https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3313038/hong-kong-coach-hits-back-supporters-defends-omission-fan-favourite-striker-lau