August 28, 2004

The road to the Tiger Cup starts here and now after Singapore coach Radojko Avramovic named his squad of 30 players.

The players have been given a chance to stake their claim for the final squad over the next 3 months, starting with Saturday's friendly match against Indonesia.

Avramovic said they are beginning the final preparation for this year's Tiger Cup with a provisional squad where every players will be given a chance to play in 1 of the World Cup qualifying matches against Oman, India & Japan before finalizing down to the squad of 20 players for the Tiger Cup.

Therefore everything depends on their performance in these matches now.

Avramovic has also continued his practice of casting the national team net wide around the S-League. This time, he has included the uncapped trio of Eagles defender Faizal Hamid, Young Lions winger Jamil Ali & Protectors midfielder Imran Sahib.

At the same time Woodlands Wellington's Goh Tat Chuan, Masrezwan Masturi & Ahmad Latiff & Tampines Rovers Tan Kim Leng have been recalled.

The inclusion of Ahmad Latiff & Tampines Rovers Tan Kim Leng  hjave been the only shock as it come after both were dropped for disciplinary infringements.

Latiff was axed from the national squad in June after missing one training session too many, while Tan had said he would retire from the Lions squad after being sent off for kicking the ball at the referee against Malaysia last month.

However Avramovic insists that the 2 players must still prove their worth.

He believed it all depends on them & they are welcome in the national team if their attitude contributes to the team, but they will not be in the squad if they are thinking only of themselves.

The Lions meet Indonesia in a friendly on Sept 4 before the World Cup qualifier against Oman four days later. A match against an S-League All-Stars side on Oct 7 follows ahead of the 2 remaining qualifiers against India (Oct 13) and Japan (Nov 17).