SINGAPORE - The Lion City Sailors stamped their mark last year when they became the first local side to win the Singapore Premier League (SPL) since 2014 just a year after becoming the first privatised club.

They have easily emerged as a major player in Singapore after splurging on big-names like Belgian winger Maxime Lestienne and former South Korea captain Kim Shin-wook.

But stepping out into the region will see the Sailors taking on an unfamiliar role as underdogs. They kick off their maiden campaign at the Asian Football Confederation Champions League (ACL) on Friday (April 15) with the Group F clash against the Urawa Red Diamonds at the Buriram Stadium in Thailand.

The Japanese Emperor's Cup holders won the ACL in 2007 and 2017 and finished runners-up in 2019.

Despite the gulf in experience, Sailors captain Hariss Harun wants his side, who are top of the SPL table in the current campaign, to believe that they belong among Asia's best.

Said the 31-year-old, who played seven ACL matches with Malaysia's Johor Darul Takzim in 2019 and 2020: "Nobody expects us to do much given that it is the first time for many of our players. We have to be mentally ready to acknowledge that this is a challenge we have never faced before.

"But I know that we have the quality to put in credible performances against these top teams. Mistakes are minimal at this level and if we have the chance, we must bury it."

The Sailors will also face K-League 1's Daegu FCand reigning Chinese Super League and Chinese FA Cup champions Shandong Taishan in a double round-robin format. All matches will be played in Buriram over 15 days.

The winners of each group and the three best runners-up from the east and west region will advance to the round of 16 of the knockout stage.

While the Sailors will go into their ACL campaign buoyed by their biggest win of the season after they crushed Tanjong Pagar United 6-1 last Saturday, the defending champions have not set the league alight with their displays. This, despite the off-season additions of Lestienne - who has featured in the Uefa Champions League - Kim and Brazilian defender Pedro Henrique.

They have five wins from seven matches, including 1-0 victories against the likes of Tampines Rovers and the Young Lions.

But Hariss is not too concerned. He said: "I am not going to run away from the fact that we haven't been at our best. But since we started pre-season till now, the coach has had one eye on the ACL. So even during league games, we have tweaked our system between pressing high and (sitting back) in a low block despite having the most quality players.

"This was just to prepare for the ACL where we will face teams that dominate possession. Of course from the outside looking in, it might not make sense. People may question why the Sailors have the better players but are sitting back? But for coach it's for us to see how we adapt to the changes during the game."

The Sailors will be aiming to do better than Tampines, who last year were the first Singaporean side to compete in the ACL in a decade, but lost all lost group-stage games while conceding 27 goals and scoring just once.

While Urawa have had a patchy domestic season and are 10th in the league, they boast Japanese internationals like former Marseille defender Hiroki Sakai and 2011 Asian Cup winning goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa, as well as Danish forward Kasper Junker, who was the top scorer in the Norwegian top flight in 2020.

Sailors head coach Kim Do-hoon is also no stranger to the ACL having led South Korean side Ulsan Hyundai to the title in 2020.

He said: "I can't say that our aim is to progress from the group stage. It's too big of a tournament for us to set those expectations now. We start by aiming for our first goal and our first point in the ACL.

"Right now our focus is on Urawa and we need to show we can compete against them."

Sounding a rallying call to his players, he added: "The ACL is not a place to gain experience. We are not on holiday. We travelled to compete and play in the most prestigious club tournament in Asia - we must remember that.

"We are representing Singapore and we don't want to be pushed around and be a team that gives away three points to our opponents."