| Fadhil Yunus |
DPMM FC head coach Steve Kean emphasised that a solid defence is key in attaining a result ahead of the Great Eastern-Hyundai S League clash against Tampines Rovers FC at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium tonight.
“The first thing we have to hope for is a better defensive display. The defence isn’t just down to the goalkeeper and the defensive unit. The defending starts from the front and we need to be much more difficult to penetrate to get to our back unit from the front and through midfield,” said Kean after a training session at the Jerudong Mini Stadium yesterday.
“Obviously when it gets to the goal area, we must block and throw our bodies on the line,” he continued.
“The games that we have won this season, the games that we’ve done well is when we really put our body on the line and throw ourselves on shots and had a real desire of not getting the opposition a shot on target so that’s required against a Tampines team who are certainly in a strong position in the league.”
The Stags are looking to put a lock on second place as the best local side in the country with Albirex Niigata (S) playing for the title against Warriors FC on the same night.
The head coach highlighted that the club has boasted strong imports as central defenders over the years with Boris Raspudic and Brian McLean known to be key figures. He added that this year they have struggled in that department.
“The initial signings that we’ve made with Francois Marquee obviously gets injured.
Then, Savic (Zeljko) came in and then Vincent (Salas) came in and he seems to prefer playing slightly wider because he tends to take a chance when he’s in the central of defence.
“First of all, for us to get a result tomorrow we need to be better defensively. We need to track runners and make sure there isn’t any spare man.
“We went through the roles and responsibilities of everybody all week on the training pitch and then when it comes to the match that’s what we need to do,” he added.
The ‘Gegar Gegar’ men will be looking to chase seventh place Balestier Khalsa FC who opened up a five-point gap following a 1-0 win against Hougang United FC last night.
The Tigers’ have now completed their season while DPMM FC can overtake them if they win both against the Stags and Garena Young Lions on their final league game of the season on November 18.
The head coach has also hinted that Wardun Yussof will be reinstalled back in the starting line-up between the sticks.
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