COACH Kim Pan Gon intends to adhere to Harimau Malaya’s DNA, emphasising a style characterised by bravery and speed. This commitment comes despite increasing pressure as they approach tomorrow’s crucial Asian Cup Group E match against Bahrain at the Jassim Bin Hammad Stadium.

Pan Gon asserts that the national players have consistently played in this manner since he assumed the coaching role in January 2022. Consequently, they have become accustomed to the playing style, understanding the expectations and requirements associated with it.

The 54-year-old South Korean coach said that this approach has proven successful, leading to numerous victories and substantial goal-scoring achievements.

Consequently, he intends to maintain the same strategy against Bahrain’s Dilmun’s Warriors, even though it resulted in a 4-0 defeat against Jordan in the opening Group E match on Monday.

“In the last two years, we faced teams like Jordan, Syria, China, India and Tajikistan. Win, draw or lose, we will play the same way… this is the Malaysian way. We gave you a 10-0 win, a 4-1 win, a 4-2 win and we scored a lot with this tactical (setup).

“For the Bahrain game, it’s the same. W@ will approach it bravely to try to dominate and hit them to make them struggle. This is the Malaysian way, if we don’t do this, it’s not Malaysia,” he said.

Pan Gon said although his team will try to score an early goal, they will also be cautious and play an intelligent game as Bahrain are no pushovers.

He said that his men have put behind them the defeat by Jordan and are now mentally focused on the next game.

“After the big loss (to Jordan), the players were disappointed and so was I. The result was not what we expected but that’s football. Our players are mature enough to know how to manage the situation. We are Malaysia, We have a very strong mentality and we believe the players will come back stronger,” he added.

Meanwhile, national midfielder Mohd Shahrul Mohd Saad believes that tomorrow’s crucial game can be a “turning point” for them and that they are capable of producing a positive outcome.

“We will give everything and fight until the end to get the three points. Although it will be hard, we won’t give up and we believe in making something,” said the 30-year-old JDT player.

Malaysia and Bahrain began their Group E campaigns on a losing note, with Bahrain going down 3-1 to two-time champions South Korea and Malaysia getting trounced 4-0 by Jordan.

Malaysia have lost three times to Bahrain since 2013, with the latest being a 2-1 defeat in the group stage of the 2023 Asian Cup Qualifiers in Kuala Lumpur in June 2022.

Tomorrow will be the first time these two teams will be squaring off in the Asian Cup stage.

Coach Juan Antonio Pizzi’s Bahrain are ranked 86th in the world while Malaysia are ranked 130th. – Bernama, January 19, 2024.