Rajagobal ready for Man City test

Speaking at the pre-match press conference for the friendly game slated to be held at the Bukit Jalil Stadium, Rajagobal promised that his strikers will put in their best effort to give the home crowd something to cheer about.

"Yes, we know we're going to play with a strong team. If you're asking me about my strikers, I think we will try our very best," he stated.

"This is a learning process, you hardly get a chance to play with this kind of strong teams."

After a narrow loss to Arsenal three days ago, the former midfielder is hoping the Tigers take what they can from the experience and use it not only against their upcoming English opposition, but also in their AFF Suzuki Cup campaign.

"We're trying to build up the team for the AFF Suzuki Cup in the ASEAN region. If we can do something to put a bit of pressure, if we can get some chances to create, I think it would be good," Rajagobal said.

"We hope that some of these strikers who have some experience like Safee Sali and the rest of the strikers and young strikers, I think as we go along there'll be some improvement. It's good that we managed to score against Arsenal and we should have scored one more. I think we can take it from there on and I will ask my strikers to do the same thing."

When quizzed about how he felt regarding his players being poor in possession against stronger opposition, Rajagobal bristled at the suggestion and insisted that the squad were heading in the right direction.

"Here in Malaysia, the national team is the most difficult situation. You only have the players for a short time. You cannot emphasize on just passing, but our passing percentage and possession against Arsenal in Malaysia was not much different. We controlled the match at different periods of time. It gives us a chance to play against top class players who can win the ball," he said.

"It will take time, it's not easy. You've got to start out with the grassroots, the mentality from the grassroots onwards, but overall I'm happy to play with these kinds of strong teams."

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With more than 65,000 tickets believed to have been sold for the highly anticipated friendly fixture, the Malaysian coach has called on the fans to forget about expectations and enjoy the football on display.

"I think they have given me good support all these years when I have taken the national team. I hope they understand who we are playing with and they can go there and enjoy the game," Rajagobal shared.

"They can also be Man City fans. There will be excitement and I think both the teams will create that kind of atmosphere."