THE score against a not-so-good Brunei was good for Malaysia - 4-0 at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Friday.
At the post-match press conference, national coach Kim Pan Gon was more interested in talking about his team's future than about the Brunei game.
World No 154 Malaysia did what was expected against world No 191 Brunei in the international friendly.
It may be billed as a Tier 1 international friendly but for Pan Gon it was just a practice match for him to try out his players and new combinations.
Pan Gon took the opportunity to remind fans not to be so obsessed with winning - at least not for now.
Malaysia scored through Syafiq Ahmad (16th minute), Syamer Kutty Abba (45th), Faisal Halim (58th) and Guilherme de Paula (83rd, penalty).
Brunei, who used to struggle in the lower half of the Malaysian league in the 1980s, were in no shape to give Malaysia a hard time as their players lacked fitness and teamwork.
Pan Gon said Malaysia need to develop a rhythm in their play but noted that the players tend to go back to their "bad habits" after a while.
And he wants to get rid of this bad habit by creating a new DNA in their play.
"The players need to adjust and we can be a better team," he said.
The Korean coach, who started work in Kuala Lumpur in February, said Malaysian fans should not be fixated with results at a time when Harimau Malaya are rebuilding.
Referring to the harsh criticisms of national players on social media, Pan Gon urged the fans to be patient.
"I think it's better not to attack the individuals (players). Don't attack every single mistake... we should instead show full support.
"We invite the players to play for the national team. We give them honour and respect, they fight for us.
"If they were lazy, without good spirit or attitude then that's different.
"I know we cannot give you a win every time, but we can express passion, energy, emotion, spirit and be united because we live for football," said Pan Gon.
As Malaysia prepare to face Hong Kong on Wednesday in their next friendly, Pan Gon will focus on getting his team to have a strong rhythm and also making them less predictable.
Brunei coach Rosanan Samak, whose team are still lethargic after a year of inactivity due to Covid-19 restrictions, said they came to Kuala Lumpur without four of their best players.