We move forward, don't think too much - Kim Pan Gon

PATHUM THANI - National head coach Kim Pan Gon refused to look too much into Malaysia's elimination from the 2022 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup campaign after their 3-0 defeat to defending champions Thailand in the second leg semi-final at the Thammasat Stadium here last night which brought about a 3-1 defeat on aggregate.

Pan Gon declined to answer questions on the impact of the AFF Cup on Malaysia’s preparations for the 2023 Asian Cup in China in June, the 53-year-old South Korean coach instead expressed his feelings about being together with the players for about five weeks since the end of November last year.

"I think we better not think too much. We have done this for more than five weeks, we all were very united, all positive, we talked about dreams and the future and we encourage each other. The players came to help, without these players we can't even participate in this kind of tournament that is not in the FIFA calendar. They gave up a lot to come here," he said during a post-match press conference here, last night.

Pan Gon said the team will conduct a thorough evaluation besides giving an overview of some of the players from the AFF Cup squad who may be retained for the next tournament.

"Some players will stay some players maybe this is the end of their journey, we don't know...but we don't want to blame them. I will take all the responsibility," he said.

Malaysia featured mostly new faces in the 2022 AFF Cup campaign after about 14 key players were unable to participate due to personal matters, family commitments and injury problems.

Malaysia, the 2010 champions, were eliminated in the group stage in the 2021 edition of the tournament.- BERNAMA