KUALA LUMPUR: Coach Kim Pan Gon admitted that his war of words with his Tajikistan counterpart Petar Segrt, before the match, had made him "very much" want to win yesterday's Merdeka Tournament football final.
Understandably, the South Korean was visibly distraught after Malaysia lost 2-0 to Tajikistan, who scored through Rustam Soirov (44th minute) and Shahrom Samiev (88th) at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
In retrospect, Pan Gon said he should be responsible for Malaysia's loss, not his players.
The defeat ended Malaysia's seven-match unbeaten run, which had propelled them from world No.145 to 134.
Pan Gon said it is not fair to single out any of the national players for the loss as he was the one who decided the gameplay, players' selection and tactics.
"First of all, I'm sorry to the Malaysian public who had put high expectations on us to emerge as champions, but sadly, we were unable to do so," Pan Gon said at a post-match press conference.
"We failed to handle the pressure from our fans, as well as (our) opponents. This kind of experience is painful but we will learn from (our) mistakes. After all, it is not the end of the world.
"We are fighting for the name of Malaysia. When we win, we celebrate together, this time we lose, we must cry together.
"It's okay to criticise me because I get a salary but the players don't get anything."
Pan Gon admitted that his verbal clash with Segrt before the final had made him very covetous for a win on Tuesday.
In the lead-up to the final, Segrt had questioned the pitch condition, called for a fair referee and said his team were without 15 main players.
Pan Gon retorted that Segrt was already coming out with excuses even before the match, and that is a bad habit.
Pan Gon said he had sleepless nights during the Merdeka Tournament as many fans were expecting Malaysia to win against higher-ranked India (World No. 102) and Tajikistan (110th).
"Last night (Monday). I could not sleep. Everyone thought we would win although we are No. 134. When I took over the team, we were No.154. I only took over one and half years ago.
"Personally, it's ridiculous. I feel the coach (Segrt) was disrespectful to the tournament... came to the tournament and started giving excuses.
"I want to win to show professionalism, I'm disappointed with myself, I don't want to lose to this character. Their players did well, they didn't step back."
Pan Gon, 54, said the loss was a wake-up call to Harimau Malaya, who have much to do to improve ahead of the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup qualifiers against Kyrgyzstan (Nov 16) and Taiwan (Nov 21).