Raddy wants Lions to stake Suzuki claims
Singapore coach Radojko Avramovic has called on his players to stake their claims for a spot in his squad for November's AFF Suzuki Cup.
By Gabriel Tan
The Lions continue their preparations for the the region's most-illustrious competition on Friday when they take on Philippines at the Jurong West Stadium, and there are some suggesting that Avramovic has already decided who he will bring to Malaysia in two months' time.
And while he admits he has an inkling of which players will likely get the door, he insists there is still plenty of time for some of the fringe members of his squad to force their way into the starting XI.
"My squad will most probably be made up of the players that are involved in this friendly," he said in Thursday's pre-match press conference. "But anyone showing quality and the will to play can make the squad.
"All the players will have chances to prove themselves and who makes it in the end depends on them. I've always said the players make the selection themselves."
Singapore will be without a number of key players on Friday after Avramovic revealed right-back Juma'at Jantan, defensive midifielder Isa Halim and striker Aleksandar Duric will miss the game through injury.
However, he believes this could be a blessing in disguise and has called on some of his less-prolific strikers to prove their worth in Duric's absence.
"Duric is one of our key elements," the Serb told ESPNSTAR.com. "While he won't be present tomorrow [Friday], this should give an opportunity for others like [Khairul] Amri and Agu [Casmir] to step up.
"Fazrul [Nawaz] has been absent in the last few games but he should be starting tomorrow [Friday] so we have the quality to score goals."
The last time both sides met, the Lions beat Philippines 2-0 in a friendly last October thanks to goals from Duric and Shaiful Esah but since then, the Azkals have shown much improvement and Avramovic believes they will pose a good test.
"Friday's game will provide a good opportunity for our team," he added. "It will be a different type of game as Philippines have players with experience playing in Europe and South America.
"It's a good game for us to have ahead of the Suzuki Cup."
Following Friday's game, Singapore are back in action next Tuesday when they take on Myanmar in Yangon.