NO YELLOW CARDS PLEASE: RADDY

Raddy gave this caution specifically to those players who are already on one yellow card offense and they are Mohd Noh Alam Shah, John Wilkinson, Mustafic Fahrudin and Isa Halim.

“It will make things a lot harder for us should they pick up a second yellow card in the match this Saturday,” said Avramovic.

But while Raddy sounds the warning, he also said that it does not mean that the players will play it defensive and not take any chances in a game which both teams could certainly do with the points.

With the return tie in Bangkok just a few days later, a win in Singapore for either team would put them in a good frame of mind.

And while yellow cards will be of concern, the Serbia-Montenegro native will also have to contend with the several injuries in his squad where for the moment, there are question marks on the availability of Agu Casmir, Shi Jiayi and Ismail Yunos.

“If you just look at the spirit and the determination of the players during training, there’s really nothing to be worried about. But as far as real preparation for such an important game like the Asian Cup qualifiers, then certainly we could have done better,“ added Raddy.

Raddy only had a few days to with all the players to prepare a team strong enough to take on the Thais in what will be a crucial tie at home.

Defender Precious Emuejeraye had just returned from Palembang to finalise his contract with his new club Sriwijaya FC in the Indonesian Super League while for another defender Isa Halim, he could only do light training after receiving an injury while on duty with the Under-23 team for the recent VFF-Smartdoor Cup in Hanoi.

Sengkang Punggol FC striker Indra Sahdan Daud is attending classes at the Singapore Polytechnic in the morning and could only train in the afternoon.

“These are some of the things which we have to contend with in preparation for international matches. But it is nothing new and we are already used to it,” quipped Raddy.

“But whatever the shortcoming, the players have to realise their duty when they are on the pitch. That is important.”