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Tampines Rovers need win at Felda United to stay alive in AFC Cup

Tampines Rovers coach Jurgen Raab has called on his team to prove their desire when they take on Malaysia Super League outfit Felda United in Wednesday night's must-win AFC Cup match at Tun Abdul Razak Stadium.

The S.League giants are bottom of Group G with just three points from four matches, and are five points behind leaders Ha Noi.

Defeat at Felda would confirm the Stags' elimination, although they desperately need to win to realistically keep alive their hopes of making the knockout round.

Thus far, their only win in the campaign has come against the Malaysians: a 2-1 home triumph in the opening matchday on Feb. 21, courtesy of goals by Son Yong-chan and Khairul Amri.

Izwan Mahbud: Every Player Wants To Win And It's Up To Which Team Turns Up Well // We were represented by head coach Juergen Raab, and goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud in the pre-match press conference held today, 18 April, for our AFC Cup away game against Felda United FC tomorrow. Hear what Juergen and Izwan had to say on our official website. Link in our bio. #AFCCup2017 #FELvTAM #tampinesrovers #tampinesroversfc #TRFC

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However, that was a very different Felda outift, having lost five of their opening seven games of 2017.

Since then, following the appointment of ex-national boss B. Satianathan at the helm, the 2016 MSL runners up have been beaten just once in their last eight outings.

And Raab is under no illusions that his side will have to bring maximum effort to the table if they are to stay in the hunt.

"We know what the table is -- we are now bottom with three points and this match is very decisive for the future," he said. "It's over for us if we don't at least get a draw, or win, and that's why we have come here to fight for this.

"[A win] is always our target when we play a match and hopefully we can bring the performance which is necessary against this Felda team.

"Most important is the attitude and the behaviour of the players.

"Hopefully, we can continue with the ambition and passion we showed in our last two matches, which is what you always need especially in such a situation.

"If the players play to their limit, then we're a chance here."

Raab will be boosted by the return of Singapore goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud, who missed their last match -- a 4-0 win over Geylang International -- due to injury. While a number of senior players, including captain Madhu Mohana and talismanic striker Khairul Amri, remained sidelined, the German tactician insists that he will not be using that as an excuse.

"I won't go through all our players who are unavailable because the list of injured players is too long," he added.

"It's the situation we find ourselves in and, sometimes, it's not easy. But if you follow our past matches, especially against Ha Noi and Geylang, the team has still done very well.

"That's why it's always important which players are available at the moment and not to speak too much about those who are missing."