KUALA LUMPUR: Despite the wins over Turkmenistan and Hong Kong in friendlies, national coach Kim Pan Gon is unhappy with his team's form.
Malaysia edged Turkmenistan 1-0 last week and defeated an under-strength Hong Kong 2-0 in their second friendly at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri on Tuesday.
Akhyar Rashid (18th minute) and Faisal Halim (41st) were on target against Hong Kong, who gave Malaysia anxious moments throughout the match.
"I am happy with the wins, but I am unhappy with the players in terms of consistency during the matches," said Pan Gon after the friendly on Tuesday.
"We had periods of instability when it came to intensity, which allowed Hong Kong to dictate the match.
"The team are still a 'work in progress' but have to up their game. I am slightly disappointed with the performances of my players.
"The players have created a habit of winning matches, especially at home. This is good for confidence.
"However, we definitely have the quality to take our game to the next level. We have to sharpen our claws in all departments."
Pan Gon hopes the national team will do better tactically in the next international break from June 12-20.
"The players will now return to their respective clubs. I will monitor their progress in the Super League and call up those who shine.
"The goals for our next international games are to improve passing and game style. The players were guilty of making individual mistakes against Turkmenistan and Hong Kong, and I do not want this to repeat in June.
"I think some of the players this time were not fully fit because of the lack of game time.
"I want to encourage these players to play regularly. This will help them improve," Pan Gon added.
Paulo Josue, Endrick dos Santos and Nooa Laine were among those who earned their first caps during the friendlies.
Malaysia collected 10.12 points and are expected to move up five notches to world No 140 in the Fifa rankings.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong coach Jorn Andersen said his team lost due to poor finishing.
"In our previous friendly against Singapore, we had 10 to 15 chances but could not score. Today, we had about eight chances, but our attackers failed to convert," said the Norwegian coach.