Football
Michael Church, Asia correspondent 7y

Gus Poyet rallies Shanghai Shenhua ahead of Brisbane Roar clash

Gus Poyet has said his first game in charge of Shanghai Shenhua is a must-win encounter as they prepare to take on Australia's Brisbane Roar on Wednesday for a place in the group stage of the Asian Champions League.

Poyet will lead a team featuring new signing Carlos Tevez into the meeting with the A-League side, with the winner advancing to the tournament proper of the continental club championship later this month.

"In the whole year, we have two targets," said Poyet, who was appointed the club's head coach in November. "One is to win this game, to be in the group, and the second thing is to one is to get into the Champions League next year, so we need to get in the top three or top four.

"From there on we will see, because some people doesn't talk about the cup but I love the cup and I think the cup will always bring something special, so depending on where we are and if we go through then we will analyse.

"But the main thing right now is to get through this game and get into the group of the Champions League and to get into the top four during the year."

Tevez is expected to start his first official game for the club having netted in a friendly match against semi-professional side Sydney United in the build-up to the match, but Poyet believes he is well prepared for a difficult encounter against a side who are already well into their season.

"We have been preparing for this match for two months," he said. "Now it is time to test our preparation. The only gap between us and our opponent is that they have started the season already while we haven't. But we are in good condition, and really looking forward to this match.

"During the last two months, we have trained very hard and also had lots of training matches on different pitches, including small ones and formal ones with different teams including amateur teams and professional teams. All these are for tomorrow. I don't think there will be any significant difference between two sides except they are in season already.

"Regarding the three foreign players, I will put them in their best positions. We know the other side is not bad, but they have their weakness that we could take advantage of."

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