| Fadhil Yunus |
DPMM FC head coach Rene Weber has called his charges to make a strong start in their crucial league tie against in-form Warriors FC in the return of the Singapore Premier League at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium in Singapore tonight.
The head coach has indicated that the Brunei-based outfit only started to hit their rhythm in the second half adding the need to take the game early to them.
“We cannot always start early to play only in the second half. We have to start strong,” said Weber in an interview with the Football Association of Singapore website.
“It happened in the previous game against Warriors, as well as in the game at the beginning of the season too. I want us to start strong, score first, take the game to them and see how they react,” he said.
Weber will be hoping to finish the season strongly with progress in the Singapore Cup also entrenched in his mind.
“We have two decisive games and it is our target to finish in the best position we can in the league, as well as advance in the Singapore Cup to take on Balestier (Khalsa) in the semi-final,” he said.
“We will need to play both games with the same concentration because we want to be third or even second in the league and our main target is to go all the way to the cup final.”
The Gegar Gegar men are unbeaten under the tutelage of the Brazilian against the Warriors in three appearances with a victory at home sandwiched between two draws.
However, any slip-up will not only dent their chances of securing a top-two finish but also enhances the possibility of dropping out from the top four, which was their initial target at the start of the season, altogether.
Weber, who was the former Brazil under-20 national coach, has set a revised target of finishing in the runners-up but a series of missed opportunities has put them in real danger of even missing out on a top three spot.
Warriors FC defender Delwinder Sigh has highlighted that his side is not out of the woods yet for a late charge to a top four finish.
“We want to overtake DPMM to go one spot further up in the table. We want the wins badly in our remaining games, be it league or Cup.
“Everyone is hungry for it and wants to end the season on a high,” he said.
Both sides are also set to face each other in the Singapore Cup four days later at the same venue with the first leg tie finishing 2-2.