PJ City is unbeaten in two consecutive Super League matches, but currently playing six games without a win as they meet the high flying league leaders, Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) at Stadium Petaling Jaya, tonight.
Head coach, K. Devan admitted that they are in a desperate situation due to the position of the team which is now in tenth place in addition to just one point separating them from Sabah who are in the relegation zone.
The only motivation for Devan in inspiring his men is the victory over the six-time Super League champions last season.
However, despite the meeting record in favor of JDT, Devan believes his team is capable of challenging JDT.
“Of course, if the record of the last meeting is used as a measure, my players will definitely be motivated to face this match even though I do not deny the advantage is to JDT,” he said.
“We have no other choice but to get three points in this match to stay away from the relegation zone and we will not go down to play defensively even though we know the opponent is the best team in the league in terms of the attacking department.
“If we choose to defend, this method will not help the team instead we need to reduce mistakes when making attacks and all players need to instil the mind to play attacking football.”
The only thing that bothered Devan so far was the lack of finishing touches that hampered their chances of winning in previous matches.
Based on statistics, PJ City was only able to score seven goals in the league with three of them scored since August 22.
“We created a lot of chances in previous matches but in the finishing aspect, my players are a bit less and this is something I want them to improve.
“We also have the absence of striker Demba Camara because he is still in Guinea to resolve his personal issues and we are in a less advantageous situation because we can only bring in four imported players.
“However, I remain optimistic that we can still improve on the eighth place last season by trying to get seven or nine points when facing JDT, UiTM and PDRM,” he said.
Another two matches today are Terengganu meet bottom-placed PDRM at Kuala Terengganu, while Perak will play at home against Felda United.
Second-place Kedah travel to Kuantan to play against Pahang on Saturday while Selangor is up against UiTM FC at the UiTM Stadium, Shah Alam.
Sabah will meet Melaka at Likas Stadium, Kota Kinabalu on Sunday.