Razip Ismail has called on his Harimau Muda side to kick-start their Great Eastern Yeo's S.League campaign on Friday when they take on Albirex Niigata (S) at the Hang Jebat Stadium in Melacca.
The Young Tigers have had a difficult start to 2015 after opening with games against last season's runners-up Brunei DPMM FC and champions Warriors FC, which both resulted in 3-1 defeats.
Following that, Razip's charges were in international action - as the Malaysia Under-23 side - in qualifiers for the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship, and that ultimately ended in disappointment as well as they failed to qualify after finishing third in Group I behind Japan and Vietnam.
Nonetheless, they did end the AFC campaign on a positive note on Tuesday when they narrowly lost 1-0 to continental giants Japan, and the Malaysian tactician is hoping his players can use that result as motivation against Albirex on Friday.
"Of course, it's never easy playing against Japan," he told ESPN FC. "It was a very difficult game but in the end there was plenty to take from our performance.
"Everybody played well for the full 90 minutes and showed good discipline and teamwork. It will be good motivation for us as we get back into S.League action."
Nonetheless, the former Malaysia international did concede that his side are struggling with the effects of fatigue, given Friday's match will be their fourth in just eight days.
"We've just finished the qualifiers for the U-23 Championship and now we're straight back into the S.League," Razip added. "It's very tough playing one game every two days and the players are very tired as they have not had enough rest."
"It's tough for us but we will still try to motivate the players. Friday's game is another game in which we need to do well in."
In addition to their own weariness, Harimau Muda will also have be wary of a White Swans outfit that is starting to find form following a slow start to the season.
After two straight defeats to Tampines Rovers and DPMM, Albirex crushed Warriors 6-0 and followed up with a 1-0 victory over Balestier Khalsa, meaning they head into the upcoming game with plenty of confidence.
Former J.League players Fumiya Kogure and Yosuke Nozawa had both made impressive starts to life at their new club, while the likes of Atsushi Kawata, Rion Taki and Hikaru Mizuno have also shown they could be key figures in Albirex's title bid in 2015.
The Malaysian side also do not have the best of records against Tatsuyuki Okuyama's charges, having been beaten 3-0 and 4-1 in their meetings last season.
Harimau Muda Probable Lineup: Ilham Amirullah, Shahrul Igwan, Adam Nor, Wan Ahmad Amirzafran, Nazirul Naim, Ariff Farhan, Ridzuan Abdunloh, S. Kumaahran, Faizat Ghazli, Annas Rahmat, Kenny Pallraj.
Albirex Niigata (S) Probable Lineup: Yosuke Nozawa, Mikiya Yamada, Takahiro Saito, Kento Fujihara, Itsuki Yamada, Hikaru Mizuno, Shun Inaba, Fumiya Kogure, Atsushi Kawata, Rion Taki, Shotaro Ihata.