TOKYO: Japan coach Vahid Halilhodzic said his players were too respectful and urged them to be "more vicious" after a stuttering World Cup qualifying campaign which has plunged his future into doubt.
The straight-talking Franco-Bosnian said the Blue Samurai, who are facing a fight to reach a sixth straight World Cup in Russia in 2018, needed to cultivate a winning mentality.
"Sometimes I'd really like them to be more aggressive, more street-smart, more vicious," the former Nantes and Paris Saint-Germain striker told AFP in an interview in Tokyo.
"I'd really like them to have ambition like Vahid," he added, referring to himself in the third person.
"Even as a player, I didn't like to lose," Halilhodzic said. "We have to create a winning culture -- the group must hate losing."
Halilhodzic suffered calls to quit as the four-time Asian champions were stunned at home by UAE in September. They now lie third in their group, out of the automatic qualifying spots, with a tough run of games to come.
But the former Algeria and Ivory Coast boss said he wasn't afraid of being sacked, insisting that job insecurity was part and parcel of being a football manager.
"No, that comes with the job. I'm not worried at all. I could be sacked and out of here tomorrow, but I'm doing everything I can," he said.
Halilhodzic is no shrinking violet, and he recovered from being wounded in 1992 during the Bosnian war in the early stages of what has become a globe-trotting coaching career.
But he admitted his "direct" style didn't always go down well in a country of "ninjas, robots, sumos" which is also known for its high standards of politeness.
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