After parting ways with Coach Thanh Cong, the team currently competing in the V-League relegation race immediately gets a new coach, who is also a familiar figure in domestic football.

PVF-CAND Club has made a crucial decision regarding the coaching staff by parting with Coach Nguyen Thanh Cong and appointing Tran Tien Dai as the new head coach, as the rookie team faces numerous difficulties in the relegation battle of the 2025-2026 V-League season.

The decision to change the coach was made on March 10, just two days after a 0-1 defeat against Nam Dinh in round 15. This is considered a necessary move by the club's leadership as PVF-CAND's performance has not met expectations.

Before the loss to Nam Dinh, the team also experienced a series of unstable results under Coach Nguyen Thanh Cong. They had secured a 2-1 victory against Becamex TP HCM, but subsequently suffered a 1-2 defeat against Cong An TP HCM and a heavy 0-3 loss to Da Nang.

The departure of Nguyen Thanh Cong also marks the second time PVF-CAND has changed its head coach position since the start of the season. Previously, the club had earlier parted ways with Coach Thach Bao Khanh in an effort to seek a professional boost to improve their standings.

Immediately after deciding to terminate the contract with Nguyen Thanh Cong, PVF-CAND quickly reached an agreement with Coach Tran Tien Dai to take over the hot seat on the coaching bench. The 1966-born tactician arrived at the PVF youth football training center on March 10 to meet the leadership, coaching staff, and all players.

During his first meeting with his new students, Tran Tien Dai candidly shared about the harshness of the professional football environment. According to him, football always involves unpredictable fluctuations where everything can completely change in a very short time.

"Many things that don't happen in society are normal in football. Everything might be stable in the morning, but by afternoon it has changed, and the situation can shift in a moment," Dai said before his first training session with the team. This coach also emphasized that professional football coaches often find themselves in two familiar states: either already fired, or facing the risk of being fired. Therefore, adapting to pressure is essential.

Alongside candid sharing, the new head coach also spent considerable time encouraging the players. He urged the entire team to maintain confidence, focus on their football mindset, and work together to overcome the difficult period. PVF-CAND's immediate task is to escape the bottom position, where they currently stand with 11 points after 15 rounds. The team now shares the same points as Da Nang but has played one more match, making the relegation pressure even heavier. In the next round, PVF-CAND will travel to face Cong An TP HCM on March 15, a match seen as a crucial opportunity for the team to seek a turning point.

Regarding Coach Tran Tien Dai, he is not an unfamiliar face in Vietnamese football. During his playing career, he wore the jersey of Cong An TP HCM club. After retiring, he quickly moved into player brokerage and became one of the pioneers in this profession in Vietnam. With a wide network in football circles, Dai has participated in many management and operational activities of professional clubs.

In his management career, he served as Executive Director of Ninh Binh Club in 2010, then continued working at Xuan Thanh Sai Gon during 2012-2013. In 2018, he was appointed Chairman of Sai Gon FC, though he stayed only about half a year before leaving the position. Notably, all three clubs mentioned above are no longer active in Vietnam's professional football system.

In 2023, Tran Tien Dai returned to football by taking the Technical Director position at Cong An Ha Noi. During his tenure there, he was twice assigned the role of interim head coach before both sides officially parted ways in August 2024.

A significant milestone in Dai's coaching career was completing the AFC Pro Coach training course in December 2025. This certificate enables him to fully meet the mandatory requirements to lead teams competing in V-League.

Regarding PVF-CAND, this club was established in 2018 under the initial name Pho Hien. After being transferred to the Ministry of Public Security for management in 2023, the team changed its name to PVF-CAND as it is now. In the past, the team twice came very close to securing a V-League promotion ticket through playoff matches, but failed against Thanh Hoa in 2019 and Ha Tinh in 2024.

In the 2024-2025 season, PVF-CAND only finished third in the First Division but still received the opportunity to ascend to V-League under special circumstances when Quang Nam withdrew due to financial difficulties, and the runner-up Dong Nai (formerly Binh Phuoc) declined the replacement right citing insufficient conditions to participate in Vietnam's top football competition.

Despite efforts to strengthen the squad before the season, PVF-CAND still faced many difficulties entering the fiercely competitive environment of V-League. Most players in the lineup lack experience at the high level, which cost them dearly after the first half of the season. According to former coach Nguyen Thanh Cong, PVF-CAND players have clearly felt the harshness of V-League and need to quickly build resilience and stable match mentality if they want to stay in the league.