Gareth Southgate wants his players to be brave and excite supporters as England return to Wembley looking to put Euro 2016 and a turbulent few weeks behind them.
Last week's publication of secretly-recorded footage of Sam Allardyce making a string of controversial comments on player transfer rulings ended his reign after 67 days and resulted in U21s boss Southgate having to step up to the senior team on an interim basis.
Southgate had previously not been keen to fill the void left by Roy Hodgson's Euro 2016 departure, yet he had no hesitation when asked to take the post for the remainder of the year.
Malta may only be ranked 176th in the world but Southgate is keen to make his mark ahead of tougher games in World Cup Qualifying Group F.
"I think (stamping your authority) takes time, for sure," said Southgate.
"But I think the players are getting an understanding of my beliefs on how I want an England team to play, and I think that is one of the most important messages for me to get across.
"I want them to be brave, I want them to excite the supporters.
"We followed that through with the junior teams right the way through and I think that's one of the most important messages, from my point of view: any England team that goes out, I want to see them play with style.
"Of course, winning is the ultimate, but that will be a consequence of the performance and the way we go about our work every day."
Southgate keeps "hearing what English players can't do" but wants his squad to express themselves in front of a packed Wembley.
"I genuinely feel that people want to see the England team do well, I still think people are excited by what is a young team with great potential," he added. "I think people recognise that.
"I know a game went against them in the summer, which was difficult for everybody to take, but I think people recognise the quality that's there and I think people recognise that it is a team that have pride in playing for England.
"That's certainly filtered through to me this week, talking to the players as a group.
"They do want to make the country proud, they are frustrated by what happened in the summer, but the only way to restore that is to put consistent performances together and build that back up."