| Fadhil Yunus |
DPMM FC head coach Rene Weber has called his charges to deliver a good performance ahead of their Singapore Premier League match against Tampines Rovers at the Our Tampines Hub in Singapore tonight.
The Gegar Gegar men, who have two games in hand over their next opponents, will be looking to reduce the gap with second-placed Tampines to seven points with victory.
Although Weber is only preparing his side to face the Stags for the first time this season, he is already versed with how they will line up with experienced duo Fahrudin Mustafic and Daniel Bennett marshalling the defence.
“They play with three defenders with Mustafic and Bennett playing on the left side. I saw a lot of their games and their coach (Jurgen Raab) was also there when we played against Geylang,” said Webb in an interview after a training session at the Jerudong Mini Stadium on Monday.
“They know how we play but we also know how they play. They are an experienced team and they control the game especially the three defenders. They know how to keep the ball and organise the team.”
Weber also acknowledged their strengths are not limited to defence with Japanese forward Ryutaro Megumi and Jordan Webb lighting up the channels on the attacking front and was effusive in his praise of midfield maestro Yasir Hanapi.
“They have quality players and are experienced. They are showing this on the field because they have been winning and they are second in the table,” the former Brazil under-20 coach added.
However, Weber who was also former Atletico Mineiro assistant manager highlighted that the Stags can be stopped if they approach the game in the right manner.
“When we play against three defenders, it is not easy because they organise the team and they put more players in our field. But they also give space to us for the counter-attack.
“There are many games in July but it is not about complaining. It is about going there to win. It is very important to get a good result and I know it will be a difficult game. In the league, there are no easy games.
“We have good players and we have good quality here. We have some weaknesses which I want to improve but we are improving game by game. We will also get more confidence if we beat Tampines.”
Weber also revealed that Tampines are the second best team in the league after current league leaders Albirex Niigata (S).