Malaysia coach Dollah Salleh could be allowed to serve out the remainder of his contract, even if his team suffer further heavy defeats in their upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
Harimau Malaya face United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi on Thursday before hosting Saudi Arabia next Tuesday as they try to move off the bottom of Group A.
But despite the likelihood of Malaysia's disastrous start to their campaign continuing against powerful West Asian opposition, Dollah is unlikely to be sacked before his contract expires at the end of the year. This is according to sources close to the team, who say that only Dollah quitting from his post would cut short his tenure in charge.
The Malaysians have earned just a single point from their opening two home matches against sides considered to be the weakest in the group -- Timor Leste and Palestine.
The Palestinians handed Dollah's men a 6-0 thrashing in Kuala Lumpur on June 16, putting the coach's future under scrutiny. They're still looking for their first victory of 2015.
Meanwhile, Dollah described the UAE as "the best team in Asia" ahead of the match in Abu Dhabi while adding that he hoped to earn at least a point away from home.
"They are the best team in Asia," he said at Wednesday's media conference at the Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium. "It's not easy for me [to play them]. It's a very tough job.
"The most important thing is that we perform well and not make it easy for the UAE to beat us. The big problem is our strike force, and we also have a lot of injuries."
Dollah singled out playmaker Omar Abdulrahman as UAE's danger man. He helped the Gulf nation achieve a third place finish at January's AFC Asian Cup in Australia, including a shock quarterfinal victory over defending champions, Japan.
"He is one of the best players in Asia, but we are prepared to stop him," Dollah said.
Adopting a more defensive formation, Malaysia drew 0-0 at home to Bangladesh in a friendly last Friday night at the Shah Alam Stadium. Since then, players from champions Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) and runners-up Pahang have joined the squad after playing in the quarterfinals of the AFC Cup.
UAE are third in Group A after opening their campaign with a 3-2 victory over Palestine, but have a game in hand on three of the other teams.