PETALING JAYA, Feb 20 — A year has passed since South Korean coach Kim Pan Gon moved to Malaysia after being appointed as the Harimau Malaya head coach but though happy with his new ‘home’, he has to deal with the mounting pressure due to the high expectations from the local fans.

The 52-year-old South Korean, who began his duty almost a year ago, said he liked the country as the people are generally kind, the weather is good and the environment is peaceful, apart from his relish for local food.

However, he said the major challenge he has to face is to deal with huge pressure due to high expectations from the fans.

"Last week was exactly one year since my first press conference here. It was an amazing journey, though when I first arrived, the (2020) AFF Cup results (played from December 2021-January 2022) was not good, a lot of pressure.

"But no regrets... I and my coaching team tried our best, we worked hard since day one. I demand a lot from them. It was a good time, hopefully fans accept our commitment and loyalty for Malaysian football,” he said during a press conference at Wisma FAM here, today.

Pan Gon said, most importantly, his coaching team had instilled a clear direction for the Harimau Malaya squad, to have own Malaysian football-DNA, and play dominating and dynamic football.

Facing two important assignments, the 2023 Asian Cup and 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup joint qualifiers, Pan Gon admitted bigger challenges await the national team.

"Maybe some part, sometimes we need to slow down... People expecting too high, creates more pressure. End of this year, we will be in a different phase — the Asian Cup and World Cup qualifications — both are tough tournaments, so we request patience from fans and continuous support,” he added.

Since taking charge of the Harimau Malaya squad, Pan Gon has guided them to qualify for the Asian Cup in June last year, on merit for a first time in 42 years, besides advancing to the semi-finals of the 2022 AFF Cup, despite the absence of top players. — Bernama