KUALA LUMPUR: "Will you come after me again?" That was the rhetorical question from national head coach Kim Pan Gon to the critics, including the media, today.
The Korean was alluding to the criticism of him after Malaysia lost their first two Asian Cup matches in Qatar in January.
"I think it's better for people to have hope rather than give up.
"For example, we (Malaysia) didn't do well in two games (at the Asian Cup), especially the first game (Malaysia lost 4-0 to Jordan), after which the media asked me to leave this position (as head coach)."
Pan Gon, who eventually won the hearts of fans after Malaysia's stirring 3-3 draw with South Korea, admitted that as a coach, facing criticism comes with the territory, but he said "it's not friendly or fair."
"In the last two years, we (the team)
put in a lot of efforts and made people happy (Malaysia's world ranking shot up).
"But after one match, you turned your back against me and asked me to leave my position. I'm disappointed and it hurt me," said Pan Gon during the first day of national team training at Wisma FAM today.
As the national team turned their attention to next month's World Cup qualifiers against Oman, Pan Gon said: "We don't know what will happen in the future. No league, no game fitness, no preseason and in this situation maybe we can't give you more, but will you come after me again?
"It's important for everyone to be united. Maybe tomorrow we can't give you something, but the day after we can.
"Now we target another level (the pre-World Cup). We need to wait because the 'rice is still cooking', we need time and even rice takes longer than a minute to cook," said Pan Gon.
Malaysia, who hope to make history by qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, will meet Oman in Muscat on March 21 and on March 26 at Bukit Jalil. Currently, Pan Gon's team top Group D with six points after beating Kyrgyzstan 4-3 and Taiwan 1-0.
