Al Gharafa coach Jean Fernandez (left) and Umm Salal coach Diogo Amado speak during press conferences held yesterday, ahead of their QNB Stars League match which will be played at Al Gharafa Stadium today.
Former champions Al Gharafa are eager to pick up their first points following last week’s 1-1 unexpected draw against Al Ahli in the opening round of the QNB Stars League.
Coach Jean Fernandez, however, said his squad is willing to be patient as the Cheetahs look to build a strong side for the future.
“We are looking to make our young side stronger. These (young) players will have a big role to play in the league (matches),” Fernandez said during a press conference yesterday.
“This is the vision of the President and this is the long-term project at Al Gharafa,” the Al Gharafa coach added.
The Frenchman said Umm Salal - who beat Al Kharaitiyat 3-1 last week - won’t be pushovers in the round two clash to be played at Al Gharafa Stadium.
“Umm Salal we are playing a good brand of football. They are a strong and well organised side - a team won the opening game of the season last week,” Fernandez said.
“They will have plenty of motivation to win back-to-back games. Having said that, I feel that we played well against Al Ahli and come into the game in a positive spirit,” he added.
Meanwhile, new recruit Diogo Amado said his team remains capable of producing a positive result in a match to be played on home soil at Thani Bin Jassim Stadium.
“We have been training well in the week. Umm Salal are a strong side, but we our focusing on our own performance and we are aiming for a win. We did really well in the first game. We should of won the match against Al Ahli,” Amado said yesterday.
Umm Salal, on the other hand, will be targeting their second win of the season following their comprehensive 3-1 opening day victory over Al Kharaitiyat.
Umm Salal coach Mahmoud Jaber, however, admitted that his side is wary of their opponents.
“We are in good form and did well against Al Gharafa but we must be careful when taking on Al Gharafa. They did well against Al Ahli and they will be hungry to get their first victory of the season. We will have to play well to get the result we need,” Jaber said during a pre-match press conference yesterday.
“We have more strength and depth in the side this season. This was one of our major problems last season and we have addressed this in the transfer window. I think this will really help us this season,” added the Egyptian coach.
To a question, Jaber insisted that his side will not be changing their playing style to counter Al Gharafa.
“Our positive result against Al Kharaitiyat shows that we are doing things right. We will continue to play our football in the best possible way,” Jaber said.
In other matches this week Al Kharaitiyat take on Al Rayyan, Al Sailiyah face Al Sadd, Qatar SC battle Al Markhiya, Al Duhail play Al Arabi while Al Khor have a date to keep with Al Ahli.
