LionsXII Slayer

davidlee@sph.com.sg

After masterminding four wins in seven attempts, Abdul Rahman Ibrahim can claim to be the most successful coach to have taken on the LionsXII.

All four victories were achieved with identical 1-0 scorelines over two seasons, when the 67-year-old former Malaysia national coach was in charge of PKNS FC.

After two years with PKNS, Abdul Rahman has taken over the reins at Terengganu.

The east coast side face the Malaysian Super League (MSL) champions tonight at the Jalan Besar Stadium, and his aim is still the same - to beat the odds against the Singaporean team.

When asked about his secret yesterday, Abdul Rahman smiled and told The New Paper: "We got to keep possession, lah.

"It will not be easy because this season the LionsXII look like they are more combative, competitive and aggressive than previous seasons. 

"Their wide players are quick, and then you got Sufian (Anuar) and (Khairul) Amri up front who are dangerous. Their defence is also as solid as before.

"It's easy to say keep the ball, but how to do that, and what we do when we have the ball, that is the tough and crucial part.

"I will try to instil the confidence and belief, and we will definitely try to go for all three points tomorrow. We are aiming for silverware... and to do that, you need to win more away games."

GOING FOR IT

Abdul Rahman's assertion that his side will go for the win was in stark contrast to his possum-playing approach whenever PKNS visited Jalan Besar, when he would say his team had no chance of beating the LionsXII.

When reminded of his previous comments, the coach countered: "But that was because PKNS had a young team.

"Now PKNS are a stronger side, and similarly this Terengganu team have more quality and experience."

The Turtles, second in the MSL standings and two points ahead of seventh-placed LionsXII before last night's two matches, have recruited well, with four man-mountain foreigners in their squad.

Powerful 1.90-metre Guinean striker Mamadou Barry is the pick of the lot.

In what was a sweet win for his coach, Barry scored both goals when Terengganu beat Abdul Rahman's former team PKNS 2-1.

The other new faces include experienced Brazilian forward Marcio da Silva, who is 1.82m tall, Cameroon defender Vincent Bikana (1.87m) and Australian central midfielder Mario Karlovic (1.82m).

Abdul Rahman feels that the key tonight, and for the years ahead, is how early his foreign stars can settle in and form a good understanding.

"We are improving, but we are still not performing up to expectations yet, especially in terms of finishing," he said.

"We have not shown our true strengths, combination play and understanding.

"We are getting there, and I hope it all clicks together so we can get our first away win here."

"Everyone wants me to score, but no, I don't feel the pressure. I'm enjoying myself in this team; the service is good. I'll just keep working hard, and I'm confident of scoring again."

- Terengganu striker Mamadou Barry (above)