Cosmin Olaroiu shoulders the blame for Al Ahli’s disappointing season

Al Ahli head coach Cosmin Olaroiu has overseen a frustrating campaign having won the league title with ease last season. Sarah Dea / The National

DUBAI // Cosmin Olaroiu said Al Ahli supporters should direct their ire at him and not his players, as the Arabian Gulf League champions seek to break a recent sequence of disappointing results.

Sitting seventh in the league, and with two victories in their past 10 matches in all competitions, Ahli have frustrated this season, which in turn has bred discontent around the Rashid Stadium.

Large sections of the Ahli support criticised the players during Wednesday’s drab 0-0 draw with Uzbekistan’s Nasaf Qarshi in the Asian Champions League — a result that kept the Dubai club bottom of their group with two points from three matches.

The stalemate also marked the sixth time in eight games that Ahli have failed to score.

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Asked about the fans’ disgruntlement, Olaroiu chose to deflect the attention away from his side.

“First, it’s always the coach’s fault,” he said.

“Our problem is not because the players don’t fight or don’t run. Even in the last game, they ran 2,000 metres more at high intensity than Nasaf.

“I don’t think somebody doesn’t want it. In this moment, we have some limits, but we’re trying very hard to pass them.

“It’s very difficult because it’s something we don’t have in our hands.

“Defence is easier to train, but attack is different under the pressure of a match.

“We’re trying to do something to pass this moment, because when you are going like this it’s difficult to cope even mentally. Some of the players are not scoring and everyone is talking, talking, talking.

“They listen, feel the pressure and then don’t play with too much confidence in front of goal.

“We know these things and we evaluate every detail of our way to play.

“What we have to correct, we can correct. We’re trying.”

On Sunday, Ahli host ninth-place Al Dhafra, who sit five points behind them in the table.

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