By Sports Reporter/Doha
Qatar Stars League (QSL) outfit Al Arab will be targeting wins against Al Wakrah and Al Khor in their next two clashes, coach Gianfranco Zola said yesterday.
Placed fifth on the points table, Al Arabi are coming off a lost against Al Sailiya last week.
“Now we have two games, which are against Al Wakrah and Al Khor in which we are looking forward to improve our scoring performance. And that is something that I believe we need to do,” Zola said on Monday.
“I have spoken to my players regarding this and that is why we are focussing on,” the Italian added.
“We are coming from a game where we lost. From a managerial point of view, the game against Al Sailiya wasn’t that bad. We played a good game. At the moment we are playing well but we are not finalising what we are doing. We are not creating and converting our chances,” Zola said ahead of Tuesday’s clash against hosts Al Wakrah.
“Last season at this point, we had 15 points and now we have 23 points. We are doing slightly better in terms of points. But we have scored two goals less than what we did managed last year and have conceded two goals less.
“Normally the teams that I coach score a lot. We know that the second part of the season will be more difficult. Teams like Lekhwiya, Al Sadd and El Jaish will be stronger in the second half of the season.
“But we will be strong too. We know what we need to work on and we have already started doing that. Right now the team has an identity which is a team that plays good football. But now we have to become a team that is dangerous. And that is my focus going forward,” he said.
“I think confidence comes when results are going your way week after week. This helps the players psychologically too. But you can’t give confidence to the players by saying - You have to be strong. I don’t worry about that.
“As long as I have the players working hard and focussing on their training, the mental aspect of the game will be taken care of automatically. As a team we have improved a lot since the beginning of the season. There are still things that we need to work on but we know that and we are focussing on that. As long as players show the commitment, we will do well. I have no doubt about that,” Zola said.
Wakrah coach Mauricio says his team needs all-round improvement.
We have to now focus on the second half of the season. We haven’t had a break after the first leg but we will have to deal with that,” Mauricio said yesterday.
“We have been focussed during the training. We have made a few corrections in the defence and also worked on the efficiency of the attack line.
“We know the strengths and weaknesses of Al Arabi. We will try to take advantage of that. But we know that it will be a tough game. Arabi are a compact team with good players. And I believe that they should be better place in the standings than where they are right now,” he added.
Al Arabi coach Gianfranco Zola.
