KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia interim coach Pau Marti Vicente doesn't want his men to be distracted by the thought of having to score many goals against Timor Leste in an Asean Cup group match at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil tomorrow.
Minnows Timor Leste were crushed 10-0 by Thailand in their Group A opener, and Malaysia are expected to win big against the Timorese despite their 2-2 draw away against Cambodia.
Vicente said his footballers will not head into the match thinking of a high score as their main focus is to get their first win in the campaign.
The Spaniard said he is happy to be back at Bukit Jalil, where they lifted the Merdeka Tournament trophy in September.
"Games are always difficult. It doesn't matter who you play. Every opponent will be out to make it difficult for us. We expect a difficult game," said Vicente in the pre-match press conference today.
"When we play at home, we need to show character, our level. All the players will have the chance to show that to play for Malaysia is never a friendly game nor easy game.
"We need to get a good win and make the people who come to the stadium enjoy the game as well.
"We cannot think about how many goals we have to score. We have to think about winning the match. If we approach the match with high intensity, good attitude from the start, any team coming here, doesn't matter high or low ranking, we will win."
Meanwhile Timor Leste coach Simon Elissetche said they are focusing on giving an improved performance against Malaysia after their heavy loss to Thailand.
"We expect another tough match against one of the strongest teams in the region, we cannot make mistakes that we made against Thailand, " said the Chilean coach.
"From the last game, we have to improve on everything. We want to be better against Malaysia.
"We learn from our matches and we need to grow."