Singapore

Coach Stange looks for confidence boost as his team take on Cambodia in their final game before the Suzuki Cup kicks off.

BY NICK MEASURES

Singapore Head Coach Bernd Stange has admitted that getting a win against Cambodia in the friendly tonight could have a big impact on his team's defence of the Suzuki Cup.

'It's very important because we need a lot of confidence for a tournament, especially when we play at home in front of our fans,' said Stange at yesterday's pre-match press conference. 'Good results boost the team's confidence and it's important to win against Cambodia.'

Stange is clearly keen to keep the momentum going after the2-0 win over Laos last week, a much needed morale boost after some disappointing performances of late. It was a game where Singapore impressed in patches, especially in a high tempo first 45 minutes, as headers by Baihakki Khaizan and Khairul Amri ultimately proved enough to decide the result.

While the Lions rather ran out of legs on a very heavy pitch at Yishun Stadium, they did show signs that they might finally be adapting to Stange's tactics of high pressing, possession football. But, perhaps the biggest positive from the night was the return of Captain Shahril Ishak, playing his first game back after a hamstring injury and looking potent at the top of the midfield diamond.

Ishak's return means Stange has a full squad to choose from and the German coach admitted that he is close to knowing his best XI. 'We are confident, powerful and do not have too many doubts about our starting line-up,' said Stange, 'It's not a young team, it's an experienced and well-balanced team.'

As such tonight's match against Cambodia, who failed to make it to the main Suzuki Cup finals after finishing third behind Myanmar and Laos, leaves him with something of a dilemma. Does he look to rest players and avoid the risk of any unnecessary injuries ahead of the start of the tournament or does he look to continue the momentum with a strong performance.

They'll need to be at their very best when they start the tournament proper on Sunday as they take on an inexperienced but very talented Thailand team in front of a home crowd at the National Stadium.

Tipped as many people's favourites for the tournament, the War Elephants are still riding a euphoric wave after an impressive showing at the Asian Games where their Under 23 team came fourth. Many of that team, and perhaps crucially their talismanic coach Kiatisak 'Zico' Senamuang are now involved in the national team proper and have been on an impressive run of form, beating the Philippines 3-0 in a friendly last week.