Urawa Reds have suffered too many false dawns in recent years to get carried away by their bright start to the J. League season, but midfielder Yuki Abe is not about to sit back and let local rivals Omiya Ardija pull the plug in Saturday's Saitama derby.
Urawa escaped relegation by the skin of its teeth after finishing one place above the drop zone last year, but six games into the new campaign sees the 2006 champions in far ruder health. Four wins and a draw since an opening-day defeat to Sanfrecce Hiroshima have lifted Reds into second in the table, with only three points separating Mihailo Petrovic's side from league leaders Vegalta Sendai.
But if confidence is high ahead of Saturday's visit to Nack5 Stadium, so too is expectation. Urawa's supporters spelled out their desire for a derby win with a banner message at the club's training ground this week, and Abe is determined not to let them go home disappointed.