By SANTOKH SINGH

EIGHT thousand -- that is the army of fans that Tanjong Pagar United will bring along to battle the Warriors of Singapore Armed Forces FC in the Tiger Beer Singapore Cup final on Saturday.

And to show that they mean business, the Jaguars started building their arsenal of cheer weapons that will be used to spur their heroes on to their first-ever triumph in the S-League.

For a start, the fan club has secured Tony International Agency Pte Ltd to underwrite the cost of 5,000 mini-flags that will be sold at $2 each to the supporters.

Christine Kong, the club's public relations manager, said: "In the current kindness drive we thought it would be good to raise some funds for the needy."

The first recipient will the Queenstown Multi-Service Centre for the Elderly.

In addition to the flags and the usual musical instruments, the club will also be bringing along a dragon dance troops to add fire to the occasion.

To raise the voice for the cheers, it has roped in the Tanjong Pagar Community Development Council for the sale of tickets. The response has been brisk with more than 500 sold yesterday.

The team's players will also be going around the neighbourhood primary schools to encourage students to exploit the free entry that has been extended to them by the League if they say the catch phrase "Make me a part of Goal 2010".

Said Kong: "Since the examinations are already over, I am confident that parents will allow their children to watch this exciting match.

"We also see it as our part in the Goal 2010 campaign. The first step is to get them watching the matches."

Meanwhile, the response from the Warriors has been rather subdued. A club official said that he expected at least 2,500 supporters to go to the National Stadium.