Kim Swee, who turns 49 on Dec 11, was shown the exit hours after his boys fell 3-1 to Cambodia in their final SEA Games Group A match last night.

The loss meant they had to take an early flight home after finishing fourth and failing to qualify for the semifinals.

“I was informed (of FAM’s decision) by (secretary-general) Stuart Ramalingam and I accept it with an open heart,” Kim Swee told reporters before flying home with his team.

“As coaches, we work for results. I had been informed before we left the decision (to renew contract) would be based on our SEA Games showing.

“Even if I had won the World Cup, then lost to Cambodia, they would have made the same decision.”

Stuart confirmed the matter when contacted.

“Results wise, we’re disappointed,” he said.

“We’ll conduct a post-mortem to see what went wrong and make sure performances like these are not repeated. Hopefully, we can improve things.”