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“As a team, they are very strong, a very physical side,” he said.
“We know what their strengths are, we have our coaches who are working tirelessly to analyse them and what they are good at.”
The Lions will have to face China without three members of their starting 11 on Thursday, with Safuwan Baharudin and Lionel Tan missing out through suspension. Midfielder Anumanthan Kumar also did not make the trip due to injury.
However, Mahler is confident in the team’s ability to cope.
“It’s a shame … but that’s football,” he said.
“They are key players but I think we still have good enough replacements to take the positions that they (played in during the) last game.”
Despite their result struggles, China are close to 70 places ahead of Singapore in the FIFA world rankings. With the Chinese home crowd in Tianjin and temperatures hovering at around 10 degrees Celsius, the Lions will have it all to do.
“Of course, they (China) will have their advantages. But I think we as a team after the draw are highly motivated and we want to go into this game with confidence and to play our football and bring the game to them,” Mahler explained.
“I think the most important thing is maybe not to worry so much about them, but to worry more about ourselves. Make sure we have the right preparation, the right frame of mind to perform to our maximum ability.”
A BREATH OF FRESH AIR
Speaking to reporters after the 2-2 draw, coach Ogura said he was not satisfied with the result and that Singapore could have won. “Please don’t say congratulations,” he added.
Mahler echoed similar thoughts. “We can only be satisfied when the job is fully done. We only got a point, three points is when the job is done,” he added.
And the coach’s comments have helped to ground the team, said Mahler.
“It was a breath of fresh air,” he explained. “It put us in the right mindset. It brought us back down to earth immediately and that’s something I felt was really important.”
Appointed last month, Ogura’s last role was at Japanese club Tokyo Verdy as assistant coach. The team finished third in the J2 League last season, and won promotion through the play-offs to the top tier of Japanese football.
Ogura was also a former assistant coach of the Japanese national team (2006-2010) as well as the Olympic team (2010-2012).
“He has come in, he has been firm with what he wants,” said Mahler. “He has installed belief in the team.”
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