Coach Vuong Tien Dung.

Liem made the announcement during a one-hour meeting with his players last night. The chairman emphasised that the dismissal of coach Vuong Tien Dung was a must to prevent the team from falling further in the first stage of V-League before moving on to the second stage.

Vuong Tien Dung is one of the most experienced and successful coaches in Vietnam. Dung skippered The Cong to the national championship in 1998. He helped Binh Duong come in second in V-League 2005 and Hai Phong third in V-League 2008, the best finish for Hai Phong so far. In 2006, Dung and Hoa Phat-Hanoi won the National Football Cup.

After Dung left Hai Phong in late 2008, The Cong laid out the red carpet for him, hoping that the experienced coach could bring the team into the top three of V-League 2009.

However, after 11 matches, The Cong had only three victories, two draws, and six losing matches, ranking 13^th. The coach was not supported by two strikers, Edene-Nyom and some domestic players. The Cong managers decide to replace Dung after a 0-3 loss last Sunday.

The replacement, Le Thuy Hai, is also one of the most successful coaches in Vietnam. He helped Binh Duong win the V-League championship in 2007 and 2008.

Hai will start his new job today, May 5. His mission is to lead The Cong into the top five of V-League 2009. He recently went to Brazil and sought two strikers for The Cong, who will join the team in the second stage.

Nam Dinh club also changed its chief coach after a 1-5 loss against Hoang Anh Gia Lai. Coach Nguyen Ngoc Hao will give up his seat to assistant Nguyen The Cuong.

Before The Cong and Nam Dinh, four clubs replaced their coaches, namely Binh Duong, Hoang Anh Gia Lai, Dong Tam Long An and Hai Phong.

PV