Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Shurtan boss Edgar Gess has called on his men to ignite their season when they host Al Saqr at Guzor Central Stadium in the AFC Cup on Tuesday. It has been a disastrous start for the Uzbekistan Cup finalists with their Group B campaign beginning with a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Al Qadsia in Kuwait two weeks ago before suffering consecutive defeats in the domestic league to Bukhara (2-1) and Mash'al (4-1). A worrying run of form that has seen them concede 10 goals through poor defending and has left Gess' position as manager in some doubt, particularly given the club's recent history of hiring and firing exemplified by the fact the Tajikistan-born coach is the first person to last longer than a year in the post. And Gess, who turned 57 on Monday, issued a rallying cry to his squad ahead of the visit of Yemen side Al Saqr that their season starts now. “Despite the fact that we started the season badly, we need to make the match with Al Saqr a turning point,” he said. “We owe it to the fans for the three defeats. I have tried to bring the players to the maximum possible level before tomorrow's match. “Tomorrow we will go out on the field to earn a victory. This will be facilitated by the fact we are at full strength except for the suspension of Sadriddin Abdullaev. Our group is of a very strong composition, we have two AFC Cup finalists in our ranks.” Gess, though, is wary of an opponent reeling from a 2-1 home reverse to Al Ittihad two weeks ago. “In addition, Al Saqr also cannot be discounted,” he added. “We have carefully studied our opponent and I think the Yemeni team are a worthy opponent.” Al Saqr counterpart Ibrahim Yusuf refused to read too much into Shurtan's opening result. “I think Shurtan are a strong contender. Despite the defeat by Al Qadsia, this team is one of the favourites of the group” he said. “Tomorrow will be a good match, and I look forward to my players recording a positive result. True, we were forced to play without three players who were drafted into the country's Olympic team but otherwise, we're at full strength.”