| Fadhil Yunus |
DPMM FC head coach Rene Weber has called his charges to perform under pressure in their clash against Hougang United in the Singapore Premier League at the National Stadium in Singapore today.
The Gegar Gegar men resumed training on Monday following a short Hari Raya Aidilfitri break on and is raring to build on their 6-2 success during their previous outing in Singapore.
“We must put the team under pressure because pressure makes the players play at a higher level. They must feel that they must win and when they put their mind into the game, they will improve,” said Weber in an interview after a training session at the Jerudong Mini Stadium.
“We want to play (good) football but when we lose the ball, we must press our opponent and come back more quickly.”
After six months at the helm, Weber said that he is currently overseeing the second stage of his team’s development having moved from the first stage which was learning his squad.
Weber highlighted that the second stage involved working on the physical and technical organisation while the first stage was about understanding the team’s organisation.
“I want to use the quality of the players and with power. I want to reach the top four target and I want to keep this position,” the former Altetico Mineiro assistant manager said.
Weber also indicated that fringe or reserve players should be given the exposure to feature in competitive matches evident by the growing influence from the bench in recent matches.
The Brazilian has given opportunities to forward Azizi Ali Rahman, who is making his debut season, and winger Shafie Effendy to shine in Singapore.
“In Brazil, we always say that we must put games in the shoulders of the players. They need to play more. Shafie can be a good player and he’s young too.
“Azizi also comes in now to the team. He has experience but he hasn’t played before in a higher level. He can help our team,” the coach said of the former MS ABDB man.
“You must prepare one full group with a strong mentality. The substitutes must also keep the level (which started from the first half) high,” Weber further added.
The head coach also acknowledged the sheer qualities of defender Yura Indera Putera despite seeing his role limited from the bench. “Yura is a young player and has power,” he said.
The head coach will also be focussing on making sure that his charges are better equipped with greater physical strength. “We must improve our physical part of the game to put pressure on our opponents. It is our target now,” he added.