IF only his charges had half the confidence of coach Paul Revington, Malaysia will qualify in the Netherlands World Cup next year.
The South African is always oozing with confidence, and wants his players to adapt the winning mentality that he tries to indoctrinate in them.
Malaysia have beaten South Korea (3-2) and New Zealand (2-1) in the Azlan Shah Cup, but today when they come face-to-face with World No 2 Australia, nobody expects them to pull a rabbit out of the hat and receive a standing ovation.
The fans, who have filled the stadium stands during both the first two matches, know the score and only expect a good account against Australia, ahead of encounters with Pakistan and India.
Australian coach Ric Charlesworth hit the war gong after his side hammered Pakistan 7-0: "Although it is an impressive scoreline, our performance is still not up to mark and we need to do better.
"We are up against Malaysia next and they are an experienced side and I expect a close match. They have things going for them as they get to play matches at 8.00pm and the crowd is amazing as well."
The crowd has simply been amazing in Ipoh, and it is a pity that the patron of the tournament, Sultan Azlan Shah, has been unable to attend because he is under the weather.
"The match against Australia would be the defining moment of the tournament for us. We all know that Australia are the best in the world but that does not mean they are invincible.
"I, like always, want my players to enter the pitch with a winning mentality regardless of the ranking of their opponents. That is the only way forward.
"I will also be looking for improvement on my side against Australia, regardless of how the match turns out to be at the end of the day," said Revington.
The defense, Malaysia's weak link in the past, has been making as little mistakes as possible, but the worrying factor is the forwards.
If only they had taken in the sitters that came their way, South Korea and New Zealand would have been beaten by six goals, not edged by one.
