KUALA LUMPUR: By now the critics have quietened as national coach Kim Pan Gon produced resounding results in two pre-World Cup football matches.
Football legend Datuk Jamal Nasir Ismail said Pan Gon knows what he is doing and no one should question his team selection.
Jamal, from day one, has maintained that fans should have faith in Pan Gon after critics questioned the South Korean's choice of players and his team strategies early into their pre-World Cup campaign.
Pan Gon, who took over the national team in January last year, has steered Harimau Malaya to victories over Kyrgyzstan (4-3) and Taiwan (1-0) in their Group D World Cup qualifiers this month.
"The team (under Pan Gon) have shown improvement," said Jamal, who was part of the national team that qualified for the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
Jamal said Pan Gon knows what he is doing and fans shouldn't question his players' selection or strategies.
Earlier this month, Pan Gon had to say that he does not appreciate fans sending him direct messages on his Instagram account, questioning his player selections.
"Whoever (players) he places there (positions), he knows what he is doing, Like Afiq Fazail... we see that he changes players based on who he sees can come in and perform.
"Outsiders may not know or understand his strategies. The players' performance during training is something Pan Gon will look at.
"We can criticise players' performance, going up and down like Junior Eldstal but at the end of the day, he's a regular and there must be a reason why Pan Gon has put his trust in him. Maybe it's the height or ability to win the ball, we don't know."
Jamal said football is a "total" game, and versatility is what every national player should have.
"The goalkeeper aside, the others must be able to play in any position that Pan Gon demands.
"It's not that Matthew Davies and La'Vere Corbin Ong are not performing. They are overlapping, supporting strikers and pushing into the final third to increase our total average on attacking."
Jamal urged fans to have faith in Pan Gon who he believes will take Harimau Malaya to new heights.
Malaysia are now top of Group D and need only six more points from their remaining four matches (against Oman, home and away, Kyrgyzstan, away, and Taiwan, home) to advance to the third round of the World Cup qualifiers.