South Korea coach Pim Verbeek refuses to speculate that a loss in today's crucial Asian Cup showdown with Indonesia could spell the end of his 12-month spell as head coach.
The 2002 World Cup semi-finalists have collected just one point from their opening two preliminary games in Jakarta and now lie bottom of Group D with one game remaining.
To reach the knockout stage, South Korea needs to win against co-host Indonesia and its expected 90,000 passionate fans in the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, and hope that Bahrain and Saudi Arabia don't draw in Sumatra.
A victory for Indonesia, which defeated Bahrain and lost to Saudi Arabia in its opening games, will send the team its first Asian Cup quarterfinals. A draw will be sufficient if Bahrain fails to win.
Asked on the eve of the Indonesia match whether he would resign if the team failed to progress to the last eight, Verbeek replied: "I know how they [South Korean fans] are. They are disappointed as we all are, but I never give answers on 'if' questions."
Before the tournament, the Dutchman told the South Korean media he would "seriously consider" his position as coach if his team failed to reach the semi-finals.
The decision may be taken from his hands as media pressure grows in Seoul for his removal.
After an opening draw with Saudi Arabia, South Korea dominated its second game against Bahrain but slipped to a 2-1 defeat.
"No tactics, bad defending, simple attacking," headed the lead story on South Korea's MBC News network on Monday.
Verbeek preferred to focus on the game against Indonesia today.
"We have the target to win the Asian Cup which means we have to win every game and we have to start tomorrow [today]," he said.
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