PETALING JAYA, Nov 15 — National coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee wants his players to banish the fear of losing big when they face the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the 2018 World Cup/2019 Asia Cup qualifiers at Shah Alam Stadium on Tuesday.

“The players need to get the mentality of losing big out of their heads. The pattern is there after they concede one or two goals, but we have to keep fighting and redeem some pride,” said Ong during the national team training session at the FA of Malaysia in Kelana Jaya yesterday.

Malaysia are still reeling from the 6-0 defeat to Palestine last Thursday which leaves them second from bottom in Group A, having scored two and conceded 26, the second most in the qualifiers behind Bhutan.

Ong is also aware of the prowess of UAE, who had annihilated the national team 10-0 in September — Malaysia’s worst defeat in history.

“UAE had just beaten Timor Leste 8-0 and it will be a daunting task, but I will motivate the players for the game. This year has been a letdown but I am hoping we can salvage something from our final international fixture,” said Ong, who was in favour of naturalisation but for players with some local roots.

“Players like Brendan Gan, Junior Eldstal and Matthew Davies may not be the best but they have the right mentality and attitude as they have been exposed from a young age,” said the 44-year-old.

Aidil Zafuan, meanwhile, is “still haunted” by the 10-0 mauling, but wants to use that as motivation ahead of Tuesday’s clash.

“I wasn’t in the team but I still think of that loss. We are now not only playing for the country’s pride, but also personal pride as this is our livelihood. The critics are entitled to their say, but we want to forget that and do our best to recover against UAE,” said the Johor Darul Takzim defender, adding that playing behind closed doors may be a blessing in disguise.

“We may be calmer playing in an empty stadium. Hopefully we can focus on the game without any distractions,” said Aidil.

The national team will have to play behind closed doors after the Ultras Malaya threw flares and smoke bombs onto the pitch against Saudi Arabia on Sept 8, which led to the match being abandoned.

Fifa had also awarded Saudi Arabia a 3-0 victory following the mayhem.