Malaysia under-22 coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee has demanded more focus and concentration from his players after they lost 1-0 to China U22 in Xiangtan on Saturday evening.
Ong's men are scheduled to take on the reserve sides of Guangzhou R&F (June 13) and Guangzhou Evergrande (June 15) on the remainder of their China tour.
After Malaysia conceded a first-minute goal from Xiang Bai Xu, the former national coach wants his men to be on full alert from the get go.
"There are a lot of aspects we need to improve in our coming matches, but the main area that needs immediate rectification is our concentration," Ong said.
"We fell asleep in the first minute, but I thought we improved a lot in second half. Unfortunately, none of our attacks could translate into a goal."
Ong would have been disappointed to see his return to developmental side end in defeat, considering the attacking talent he set out against the Chinese.
With S. Kumaahran, Safawi Rasid and Adam Nor Azlin all starting, Malaysia had a lot pace going forward to trouble their opponents.
Ong also felt that sufficient time for chemistry and camaraderie are crucial for the team to produce their best football.
"I think all development teams need at least 10 days to a month to train together before a tournament. But this is a learning process and they boys will need more games for their game to sharpen."
Much is expected from the Malacca-born coach to regain his Midas touch, having won the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games gold medal for football in 2011.
He will be expected to replicate that feat at the 2017 edition in Kuala Lumpur in August.
Before that, Ong is tasked with charting Malaysia's fortunes at the 2018 AFC U23 qualifiers in July.
In those qualifiers, Malaysia are in Group H together with co-hosts Thailand, Indonesia and Mongolia.
The 46-year-old was given the trust by Football Association of Malaysia, despite the senior team's disappointing performance at the 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup under his watch.
In that biennial tournament, the Harimau Malaya crashed out in the group stage for only the third time in their history after only winning one game.