Hougang United hope to lift the gloom surrounding Singapore football by seeing off Philippines' outfit Ceres-Negros in the Singapore Cup on Tuesday night.
The two sides face off at Hougang Stadium with Ceres-Negros hoping to replicate last month's feat of defeating Malaysian champions Johor Darul Ta'zim to make the ASEAN zonal final of the AFC Cup.
Already, Cambodian teams Boeung Ket and Naga World have eliminated S.League outfits Warriors FC and Balestier Khalsa in the 2017 Singapore Cup.
So, with Japan's Albirex Niigata (S) top of the S.League by seven points, Hougang coach Philippe Aw says his side are determined to give a good account of themselves to restore footballing pride for Singapore.
"We want to stop the trend of foreign teams progressing at the expense of the local S.League clubs," Aw told The New Paper.
"Local pride is at stake and we want to give them a good game."
Despite standing only fifth in the eight-team Philippines Football League, Ceres boast seven full internationals under head coach Risto Vidaković. They finished second in their domestic league last year.
"They are the best foreign team in the draw," Aw said.
"They have quality imports like former Sevilla striker Fernando Rodriguez and some of their local players have mixed parentage. Stephan Schrock is one of them and he has Bundesliga experience, too.
"They are physically tough and will go in strong for 50-50 challenges, so we need to be ready."
Hougang are sixth in the nine-team S.League, under Aw, who moved from Home United at the end of last season.
If they are going to beat Ceres, they will need to improve their 2017 scoring record, with only nine goals in 10 league games.
"I am not a magician and I will need time to turn things around and play the brand of football that we want," Aw said.
"If we can solve our scoring problems, we will climb up the table. With a long-term vision, I'm confident we will be able to do well in time to come."
The winners of this preliminary round match will earn a meeting with Cambodia's Boeung Ket in the Singapore Cup quarterfinals.