There is no better time to impress national coach Radjoko Avramovic as the Singapore Selection take on English Championship side Burnley in Saturday’s FIS Asian Challenge Cup at Jalan Besar Stadium.

Made up of several under-23 players, the squad is complemented with a few experienced internationals as Singapore aims to rebuild internationally after the agony of missing out for a berth in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup finals in Qatar earlier this year.

This game marks the start of intensive preparations for two major international assignments at year-end – November’s Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, and the AFF Suzuki Cup a month later.

For Burnley, it marks the conclusion of their week-long pre-season tour here as they prepare for their upcoming domestic season in the second-tier of English football.

In their previous two games earlier in the week, the Clarets, who were demoted from the Premiership in May after a gallant season, demolished S.League sides Gombak United and Home United with identical 5-0 scores at Tampines Stadium.

Avramovic believes his side will provide the visitors’ most serious test when they meet on Saturday.

“Their (Burnley’s) previous two games is just for testing, the real game is tomorrow!” joked the Serbian at Friday’s pre-match press conference.

He has called on the players to show their worth against Burnley to be worthy of further call-ups in the national team or Under-23s.

“For us, this match will be an excellent test for us against Premier League players,” he continued.

“Now it is the time to look for some younger players and assess them to see who will be able to step up and show they can play alongside the seniors.

“This will be a mixed team as I am trying to build up a squad for future SEA (Southeast Asian) Games where we hope to go all the way to the final (in the next one).”

He has revealed that the Under-23s will feature prominently with three overaged players in the starting eleven.

These three slots are likely to be filled by Shi Jiayi, Shahril Ishak and Khairul Amri, with Young Lions captain Hariss Harun leading the side.

Meanwhile, Burnley manager Brian Laws will be looking to end the tour with another positive result at the expense of the Singapore Selection.

The former lower-league defender, who took over from present Bolton Wanderers gaffer Owen Coyle in January, is happy with what he has seen in his side’s stay in Singapore so far.

“It has given us a good opportunity to use the local conditions to work on our fitness and taking on the challenge of playing three games in such a short space of time ahead of our Championship season,” said the former Grimsby Town, Scunthorpe United and Sheffield Wednesday gaffer.

“The players’ response (in the games against Gombak and Home) has been very good so far.

“I am looking forward to tomorrow’s game and hope this game against the national side will attract many fans.

“We want to win, just as the national side will also want to win in front of their home fans as well.

“Hopefully this will be a spectacle with open play from both sides to end the tour on a high note.”

The artificial turf at Jalan Besar does not faze the 48-year-old manager, who believes familiarity with the surface back home, minus the unpredictable tropical weather, will even things for the Clarets.
 
“Unlike years ago, nowadays artificial pitches are now more suitable to play football,” he continued.

“The Jalan Besar pitch is a 3G pitch and we should not have a problem adapting to the conditions as we have a similar all-weather training surface back home.

“It has a perfect surface and does allow teams to play good football on the ground.”

Laws is confident of another goal-fest from his attacking players, who have shown good form in their foray up front against the Singapore clubs.

“We have scored plenty of goals in the last two games, which is good for us,” he said.
“The players take pleasure in scoring goals, whether it is during games or practice matches.”

The main danger man for the Clarets is winger Chris Eagles. The former Manchester United trainee was the standout act for the Clarets as his pace and trickery with the ball on either wing proved difficult for opposing full-backs to cope.

Two teams shaping up with different agendas, it remains to be seen who will be the more satisfied of the coaches after their respective workouts at Jalan Besar at the final whistle.