Coaches have point to prove in Lion City Sailors v BG Tampines Rovers Singapore Cup showdown

SINGAPORE – Eight months can be a really long time in football.

In May 2025, the Lion City Sailors were riding high after completing a clean sweep of domestic titles with their 1-0 victory over BG Tampines Rovers in the Singapore Cup final to add to their Community Shield and Singapore Premier League (SPL) triumphs.

Earlier that month, the Sailors had been feted for an unprecedented run to a continental final, although they came up short in their quest to win the AFC Champions League Two (ACL2) title, after a narrow 2-1 loss to United Arab Emirates outfit Sharjah FC.

Those achievements earned Sailors coach Aleksandar Rankovic the Coach of the Year gong at last June’s 2024-25 SPL Awards Night and he was also rewarded with a two-year contract extension.

But the Serb’s stock has since slipped, ahead of the Sailors’ clash against Tampines in the Singapore Cup final at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Jan 10.

Although the Sailors lead the 2025-26 SPL with a perfect 15 points from five matches, Rankovic is under pressure to silence the doubters in a season that has seen them lose 4-1 to the Stags in the season-opening Community Shield last August.

They were also bundled out in the group stage of the current ACL2 campaign, with Tampines flying the flag for Singapore after booking a berth in the round of 16.

Speaking to The Straits Times at the Sailors’ Mattar Road training centre, Rankovic said it was “not necessarily” the case that the final has now taken on more significance, given the recent run of results.

The 47-year-old Serb, who was appointed in June 2023, said: “Because that pressure (to win titles) is there from the beginning. We want to win everything domestically so in terms of pressure, nothing changes.”

Quizzed on whether a Singapore Cup win was needed to show that he is still the right man for the role, Rankovic added: “I think I already showed this in the last two years. I won four trophies... and I played in the Champions League (Two) final. So I think I proved something since I came here.

“I don’t want to sound arrogant... but before I came here, this club never played a cup final, so that says a lot.”

He added: “As coach of the Sailors, you have to perform every year, but it’s not like if you don’t win a cup final that you have to feel insecure, not at all.”

The Sailors and Tampines were given byes into the semi-finals of the Singapore Cup based on their top-two finishes in last season’s SPL. Tampines booked their place in the final after beating Albirex Niigata 5-3 on aggregate, while the defending champions Sailors dispatched Balestier Khalsa 5-1 over two legs to progress.

Both finalists are also set to battle for the SPL title. In the current season, the Sailors, who have played five matches, top the eight-team table with 15 points while the Stags are third with eight points having played a game fewer.

In the opposite dugout, former Tampines assistant coach Noh Rahman is looking to win his first trophy as a head coach, after he was promoted to the hot seat in September 2025.

A victory in the final, which would be the Stags’ first major trophy since winning their fourth Singapore Cup in 2019, could also significantly bolster Noh’s chances of extending his stint beyond the end of the season.

The 45-year-old has shown his mettle by leading Tampines to a surprise last-16 berth in the ACL2. They notched five wins and a draw to emerge top in Group H, which featured former Asian champions Pohang Steelers of South Korea, Thai side BG Pathum United and the Philippines’ Kaya-Iloilo.

The former national defender, who began his post-playing career as a fitness coach with the national team in 2017 and has also held an assistant coach’s post at the Sailors previously, played down talk of the final being an audition of his credentials.

“I don’t approach the game that way because I think this is not just about me,” said Noh, who is also the assistant to national coach Gavin Lee.

“More importantly, the final is about the club. We did not win the final last season so obviously, this is a game that I’m sure most of the players that were with us last season want to do better in. It is a massive game for us.”

On whether he wanted the job beyond the end of the season, Noh said: “That’s a conversation that I need to have with the club but on a personal note, obviously I want to try and do well in every competition with the club.”

Both teams have bolstered their squads in the January transfer window and several of their new players could feature in the final.

The Sailors’ new signing, Lions midfielder Kyoga Nakamura, could face the club where he spent five years at, while Tampines will look to field defender Raoul Suhaimi – who joined from Young Lions – and former Japan international Yuki Kobayashi.

Regardless of who takes the field, Noh wants his side to believe that they are a “big team”.

He explained: “When I took over in September, I told the players that we have to start believing and play like a big team.

“When we played big teams in the Champions League, I had a sense that the players don’t believe enough, but through the campaign, with victories against teams like Pohang, I think the team has evolved.

“We have to go into every game thinking that we have a chance to win. The Sailors have quality individual players and are a good team, but we must go there to challenge them, wanting to win.”