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Myanmar head coach Radojko Avramovic admits it will be a funny feeling to coach against his former team, Singapore, in the AFF Suzuki Cup starting Nov 22. But, the Serbian who will turn 65 during the course of the group stage of the elite ASEAN tournament, says that he doesn't intend to lose to the co-hosts of the competition. Avramovic's Myanmar are in the Singapore-based Group B of the tournament which features Thailand and Malaysia as well as co-hosts Singapore. The Serbian coached Singapore to three ASEAN crowns -- in 2004, 2007 and 2012 -- before taking over Myanmar in February. Speaking to the New Paper, Avramovic said that it will be strange to be the away side in a nation where he lived for more than a decade. "Sure, it will be a funny felling, coming back to Singapore, but playing as the away team," said Avramovic, who was Coventry City's goalkeeper in the 1983-84 English first division. "I would really like Singapore to play well. But once we are in competition, we are professional and I don't want to lose." Myanmar will meet Singapore on Nov. 26 in their second Group B game at the new National Stadium. But Avramovic's side will play their other pool matches at the smaller Jalan Besar Stadium, on synthetic turf. "We have been training on grass and we will have to adapt to the artificial pitch at Jalan Besar," he said. "I may know the pitch well but the ones playing are my players, not me." Underdogs Myanmar have progressed just once -- in 2004 -- from the group stages of the Southeast Asian tournament. But the White Angels were impressive as they easily qualified for the Suzuki Cup last month in Laos to extend their unbeaten streak to six matches. But Avramovic was quick to dampen expectations. "Recently Myanmar have not done well in the Suzuki Cup. But I don't want to speculate on how far we can go," he said. "It has been a challenge for me to select players in a short period. But I have some interesting players. You will see a mix of young and experienced Myanmar players. "We are in the group of the defending champions (Singapore) and former champions (Thailand and Malaysia). We should be motivated to compete with these teams."
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