KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 — New Harimau Malaya head coach Kim Pan-gon is still looking for the best candidate among the local coaches to become his assistant and will make an announcement soon.

"I have received several CVs (curricula vitae) that I’ve looked at already and maybe (I’ll) try to meet them individually.

"I will discuss with technical director Scott O’Donnell... we will try to find the best candidate,” he told reporters at his first press conference since being appointed last month.

Asked for his opinion on the naturalisation project, Pan-gon admitted that Malaysia could not rely on just one player, be it local or naturalised, to do wonders as football was all about playing as a unit.

"I don’t care whether you are (a) local, naturalised or heritage (player), I will only pick the best for my team,” he said.

Apart from spending more time to get to know Malaysian football, especially the players, Pan-gon said he would also need time to learn Malaysian culture as a mark of respect for the country that he is currently serving.

"I want to try to eat Malaysian food as well and try to learn Malaysian culture because for me, wherever I go, I respect local (culture). I need to have good cooperation with local football and this way I can be successful,” he added.

The former South Korea Football Association national team director was appointed to replace Tan Cheng Hoe, who resigned last month after taking full responsibility for Malaysia’s failure in the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Cup in Singapore last December. — Bernama