The Jaguars will open this year’s league campaign with an away fixture at Pasir Gudang Stadium against Harimau Muda.

The only journey up north last season was one to forget as the team returned with a 3-0 loss at the hands of the hosts at a scorching afternoon fixture. On home soil, the Jaguars forced a 1-1 draw with Harimau Muda with Kamel Ramdani finding the net.

“People may say Harimau Muda is a young team, but we must keep in mind that they are also the National Youth Team of Malaysia. It is never easy to play against Harimau Muda. The game last season at Pasir Gudang was a disappointment but we managed to bounce back after that, which is good,” Vallee told tpufc.org.

The trip up north will see the Jaguars playing the fixture at the new time slot of 8.45pm. It will prove to be a tricky situation to handle as the team will see themselves returning to Singapore on Tuesday midnight. The following fixture will just be two days away with the team scheduled to take on Hougang United at Queenstown Stadium.

The two sides met twice last season in the first two rounds of the S.League and the Jaguars came out victorious both times. The first encounter saw the Jaguars coming back from behind twice before former striker Ismael Benahmed put away a beautiful volley to give a 2-3 win.

Monsef Zerka scored the only goal of the game in the return leg at Queenstown Stadium to clinch another important win for the team.

The Northeastern outfit saw some changes in the squad towards the end of the season and they managed a good run of results soon after.

This season, the Cheetahs have signed promising young striker Wahyudi Wahid from Geylang International and Brazilian forward Diego Gama Olivera.

“Playing two games in four days is always tough. Especially when you have to travel for one of the games. But maybe it is not that bad as we won’t have a game in the first week of March,” Vallee said.

“People may say that we look very strong this year, but we also must remember that everyone else is also improving. We must keep our feet on the ground and work hard for our supporters. That is what matters. I have belief in the team and I hope we can have a good start for this season.”