KUALA LUMPUR: Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) will not underestimate Port FC despite entering their Asian Champions League Elite (ACLE) clash with the Thai side as favourites.
The Southern Tigers, who beat South Korea's Pohang Steelers 2-0 earlier, are in a stronger position than Port, who have lost their first two matches.
However, JDT head coach Xisco Munoz and midfielder Natxo Insa stressed that they must maintain their discipline and intensity to avoid an upset.
Insa, who has witnessed JDT's rise as a continental contender, credited club owner Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim for driving the team's ambition.
"From the top, on the roof, the boss (Tunku Ismail) always pushes," Insa said.
"There is always improvement every day in training, every season in the league. Even the beginning of the season he said, 'This season I want to be in the semi-finals.' So always he pushed all of us to be a little bit better than we were yesterday."
However, Insa warned that JDT could run into trouble if they allowed their achievements to make them complacent.
"We are so proud about what we are doing, about where we started and where we are now.
"But if we forget we are in this situation because of hard work, commitment, and humble, and be hungry, if we forget these small things, we are going to be in problems tomorrow."
He said Port are still dangerous despite their poor start, and pointed to their performances against Japanese opposition.
"They went to play in Japan, which is nowadays the high level in this competition. They were aggressive, they were with character, and they have personality. They are fighters, and they are going to fight from the beginning until the last.
"If we relax, if we think because we are now here, tomorrow we are going to be here, then it's a big mistake. The quality is improving in Asia, and when the quality is there, you cannot sleep."
Munoz echoed those concerns, saying JDT must approach the match with the focus required for a knockout tie.
"Always the game in the ACLE is dependent on the small details," Munoz said.
"All the games in the ACLE are a new game. It's important to understand it's like a one final. We need to stay full concentrated, come inside the game with full energy, full ambition, and with our character. We need to give our best from the first until the last minute."
JDT will be without suspended defender Eddy Israfilov, but Munoz insisted that the squad had enough depth to cope with his absence.
"Eddy for me is a very, very, very important player, also for the club," he said.
"Just now, the secret in our group is we are 20 players ready for play. We do not need only 11 players, we need a big squad, we need a big team. For me it doesn't matter if they start in the first 11 or play in the last 20 minutes, everybody is ready to give 100 per cent."
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