Fresh off an unbeaten Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup qualifying campaign with Singapore, Lion City Sailors captain Hariss Harun is already turning his focus back to the next task at hand — defending the Singapore Premier League (SPL) title.

While the Lions’ final qualifier against Bangladesh was billed as a celebratory occasion, it still required grit and discipline, as Hariss and his teammates battled to a 1-0 win in front of a partisan 30,105 crowd at the National Stadium.

“It was amazing to see the fans come out in huge numbers to support the team, and to end the campaign unbeaten is a fantastic achievement,” said Hariss.

“Performance-wise, there’s still a lot of work ahead of us. But overall, it’s a positive for Singapore football, and we’ll go forward with our hearts and minds in the right place.”

(Photo: Football Association of Singapore)

That same mindset now carries into club duties, with Hariss one of four Sailors involved in the match. He also reserved special praise for teammate Nur Adam, whose resurgence has been one of the standout stories in recent weeks. 

“Having seen Nur Adam grow from a young player, he is much more mature and settled now,” Hariss said. “Ever since he returned from National Service, he has been putting in full effort into every training and match.

“He has earned his place for club and country, and he has the potential to hold on to that spot for many years. I’m glad to see his hard work paying off.”

With international football now behind him for the season, Hariss is fully locked in on the Sailors’ domestic ambitions. The reigning champions remain five points clear at the top of the SPL table, but the skipper is taking nothing for granted.

“We are ahead at the moment, but we cannot take anything for granted. The other teams are chasing us, and we still have to play them.

“To maintain that gap, we need to collect as many points as possible. That means full focus in every game until the end of the season, as defending the title is our top priority.”

Having previously enjoyed sustained success in the Malaysia Super League with Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT), Hariss knows what it takes to stay on top. Yet, retaining the SPL crown would mark a new milestone in his career.

“Defending titles is always difficult, and it gets harder with each passing year. Every season brings new challenges,” he said.

“It will be special for me and everyone at the club to defend the title, and it will give us valuable experience to push on in the years to come.”

Leading that charge is Spanish head coach Jesús Casas, who has made a steady start with two wins and a draw from his first three matches in charge.

“Coach Jesús brings a different style of football compared to what we’ve been used to. He has fresh ideas and is working to implement them into the team,” said Hariss.

“We faced some difficulties in the first game against Albirex, but there’s still a lot of adapting to do. With time, we will get there.”

Next up for the Sailors is a clash against bottom side Tanjong Pagar United, who are enduring a difficult campaign. But Hariss is wary of complacency, despite his side’s dominant recent record in the fixture.

“It may seem like a straightforward match on paper, but these are the games that can surprise you,” he cautioned. “Tanjong Pagar are most dangerous when teams take it easy, so we must stay focused. 

“We have seven cup finals left, and we’ll give it our all to keep the SPL trophy with the Sailors. Our goal is to entertain the fans and bring the three points home.”