Eagles coach Hasrin wary of DPMM backlash, demands full focus
| GEYLANG INTERNATIONAL |
BRUNEI DPMM |
Five games into the Great Eastern-Hyundai S.League season, Brunei DPMM are finding themselves in unfamiliar territory.
The Wasps, S.League champions in 2015 and third-placed finishers last season, are currently one place off the bottom of the nine-team league table.
A wretched start to the season has seen them lose four of their first five games.
Steve Kean's men head into the clash with Geylang International tonight on the back of a 5-3 defeat by Warriors FC at their Bandar Seri Begawan home last Saturday.
But Geylang coach Hasrin Jailani is not about to let his guard down.
Said the former Singapore international midfielder: "It's always a dangerous situation when you meet a team like this.
"When we played Tampines Rovers (on April 8), they had just come off a defeat, but they looked much better than us (and won 4-0).
"DPMM are not doing well now, but they are still a dangerous team and, in Billy Mehmet and Rafael Ramazotti, they have strikers who are always capable of scoring.
FOCUS
"So we must make sure we are extra careful, and focus on our defensive organisation."
Ramazotti, the S.League top-scorer in 2015 and 2016, has scored four goals this season, while Mehmet, a new arrival from Tampines, has bagged two.
The pair's combined tally of six goals is one more than what the entire Geylang team have mustered in their five league games.
The Eagles, who narrowly missed out on qualification for the AFC Cup last season, have been struggling for consistency since the start of the campaign, with two wins, one draw and two losses.
Although they beat bottom side Garena Young Lions 2-0 in their last game, Hasrin believes his team are still far from their best.
"In all our five games so far, I feel we have not played at the level we are capable of," said the 41-year-old.
"Even after the Young Lions game, I felt there were a few things we could work on defensively.
"The main thing I hope we start to get is consistency from our players. That's what we need now."
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