"Not good enough" is Singapore national coach Bernd Stange's blunt assessment of LionsXII in the 2015 Malaysia Super League (MSL).
Despite winning May's Malaysia FA Cup, LionsXII finished seventh in the 12-team MSL with only one victory away from home in the entire season. This was in contrast to their home form which saw eight wins and three draws in 11 matches.
But in an interview with The Straits Times ahead of next week's AFC World Cup qualifier against Syria, Stange claimed that LionsXII did not perform up to expectations.
"To me, the LionsXII cannot be finishing in the bottom half of a Malaysian league," he said. ""That is not the standard. Most of the LionsXII players are from the national team.
"How then can a national team draw with Japan and then not do well in the MSL?"
LionsXII's seventh place was just one spot better than their eighth place result in the 2014 season. In 2013, they won the MSL title under coach V. Sundramoorthy.
Stange added: "When we gathered earlier this week for training, I had a briefing and I let the players know that it was not good enough. We must improve."
Fourteen out of 23 players in Singapore's World Cup qualifying squad are from LionsXII, the nation's sole representative in the MSL.
In their defence, LionsXII aren't allowed to play import players, unlike the teams they face, who can field up to four per game. Their lack of potency this season -- especially away from home -- may have been alleviated by a foreign striker.
The top seven forwards on the MSL list are all from outside Malaysia. PDRM's Mali forward Dramane Traore finished MSL Golden Boot with 19 goals ahead of two Argentinians on 12, Pahang's Matias Conti and Johor Darul Ta'zim's Luciano Figueroa.
Winger Faris Ramli -- a key part of Stange's Singapore squad -- was the LionsXII's top scorer with eight league goals.
Singapore's World Cup qualifying match against Syria will be played on Sep. 3 at a neutral stadium in Oman.
The Singaporean top Group E on four points after one victory and one draw from their two matches.