Tampines Rovers' new midfield general Yasir Hanapi is confident that the S.League giants can win without Jermaine Pennant when they face I-League champions Mohun Bagan in the AFC Champions League playoff on Wednesday.
V. Sundramoorthy's team go into their first competitive game of the season without star signing Pennant, who was not registered in time for the game in Kolkata.
Despite the unavailability of the former Arsenal and Liverpool winger, Sundram is confident that his squad, which includes nine LionsXII recruits and the likes of Singapore national team players, Yasir Hanapi and Fazrul Nawaz, can step up.
"This is a long season ahead for us at Tampines," Sundram told ESPN FC.
"We have to be ready to challenge on the domestic and regional stage which is why we have a big squad of good quality.
"It won't be an easy game in India but the players must be ready to prove they are good enough. We have players like Fazrul, Shahdan and Yasir who have a lot of experience, and the younger ones, like Jordan [Webb] and Chris [Van Huizen], will also give us the extra boost. Hopefully, we can come away with the result we need."
One player who seems to be an early contender to feature heavily in Sundram's plans for the playoff against Mohun Bagan is former Home United midfielder, Yasir.
The versatile midfielder started in both of Tampines' friendlies -- 2-0 and 1-0 wins over Hougang and Johor Darul Ta'zim II -- and was part of a diamond formation, alongside Izzdin Shafiq, Hafiz Sujad and Ismadi Mukhtar.
With Shahdan operating behind lone striker Fazrul Nawaz, this lineup is close to the one that Bernd Stange uses for the Singapore national team.
But Yasir has urged his teammates to produce the quality expected of them, instead of getting carried away by the pre-season hype surrounding the eastern giants.
The 26-year-old midfielder said: "If you look at the quality in this team, we have a very good chance of progressing in all the competitions we play. But at the end of the day, we the players need to show up in training and every game to get the win.
"It really doesn't matter if we have a lot of big-name signings. If we don't prove it on the pitch and show the quality of play, then all the efforts the club have put in to build a strong team will be wasted. We will have to go through this entire season as a team, not as individuals."
Yasir resisted the opportunity to stay at Home United where he was one of the stars of the team last season. He revealed that he chose to join Tampines after speaking to Sundram about the role he would play.
"I wanted to challenge myself and see how far I can go. Central midfield is where I am most comfortable in, because I can contribute in both attack and defence. That's the position I played in for most of my youth career at Geylang [International] but this is a team game and I'll play wherever the coach needs me," he added.
"I was happy at Home, and coach [Philippe] Aw's tactics were very positive. They will be strong contenders for the league title with the names they have brought in but Tampines is a very strong team too. I chose to come here so that I can put test myself, try and win something and hopefully be part of Singapore's Suzuki Cup squad this year."
Tampines departed for India on Sunday and could be the fresher of the two teams as Mohun played East Bengal in the Kolkata derby on Saturday, just four days before taking on the visiting Singaporeans.