Selangor coach Durakovic vows to attack LionsXII

I would love it if we can beat LionsXII and end their 21-match unbeaten home record.

Even if it wasn't delivered with the passion of Kevin Keegan, Selangor coach Mehmet Durakovic's message was clear: The Red Giants are here to win.

With a plethora of attacking talent at his disposal, the 48-year-old Australian is confident his team can get the three points in style against the Malaysian Super League (MSL) champions tonight at the returfed Jalan Besar Stadium.

"The LionsXII have a good home record and fair enough, that's how it should be," said Durakovic, a former Australian international defender who won three Malaysia Cup titles with Selangor from 1995 to 1997.

"All I can promise is, we will play attractive football that fans want to watch.

"We will attack. We are not one of those teams who will shut up shop just because we are playing an away game.

"And I will love it if we can win here... I am confident, I am always confident."

In his 24-man squad, Durakovic has five proven strikers - Brazilian hotshot Paulo Rangel, highly-rated former Harimau Muda duo Ahmad Hazwan Bakri and Thamil Arasu, 2011 Malaysian Super League topscorer Abdul Hadi Yahya and 2012 Malaysia Cup winner Afiq Azmi.

Speed threat

Not only that, there are also speed demons in S Kunanlan and Andik Vermansyah on the wings and the tricky Brazilian attacking midfielder Juninho, while central midfielder K Gurusamy is also pretty handy with long range shots.

With such firepower, Selangor comfortably recorded 2-0 victories over both T-Team and Harimau Muda C in the league and FA Cup matches, respectively, recently, with Rangel grabbing three goals and Juninho scoring one.

LionsXII-Selangor matches have been tight and low-scoring affairs, with the Singapore side boasting one win and the three other encounters finishing in draws.

But Rangel has scored against the Singapore side, when he notched a goal last season while with Perak, and Gurusamy also blasted one in at Shah Alam in 2012.

But Durakovic is looking forward to more of his Malaysian players stepping up to the plate tonight.

"We are not a one-man show," he said.

"I'm very happy with my foreign players but they also need good support. The midfield has been working fantastically.

"It will take time for us to get better but the young local players are not just quick and talented, they are hardworking and dedicated, too.

"I want them to play with passion and commitment. When I played for Selangor, we won three Malaysia Cup ties because we were united and committed.

"Back then, Selangor were one of the biggest teams in Malaysia because of all the passion surrounding the team, and that should be the way."

Durakovic, however, stopped short of tipping his own team for the league title.

He said: "It's not going to be easy because we also have to play in the AFC Cup. Players are not machines so they can't play two games every week.

"JDT, Kelantan, Pahang and the LionsXII are teams who can beat each other, so it will be very interesting. For me, the target is simple - play attractive attacking football, and that's what we will do here."

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