Al Ain travel to Al Nasr on Saturday night for the President's Cup quarter-final at Al Maktoum Stadium. The cup holders, recently crowned league champions, are in the middle of a busy period, with the match sandwiched between their Asian Champions League double-header against Al Ahli. Here's coach Zlatko Dalic's take.
ON FRESHENING UP HIS SIDE:
“Two days ago we played a tough game, spent too much energy. But tomorrow is a new competition, a new challenge for us. I hope my players are not tired. We’ll make some changes in the team – I’ll put in some fresh, rested players. I hope Miroslav [Stoch], [Hilal] Saeed and Mohammed Abdulrahman will be ok for the game and give benefit for us because they are fresh. But, of course, our target is to win.”
ON MANAGING THIS VITAL SPELL:
“Only rest, rest, rest; only recovery. We’ve been doing this for the last month – we don’t have time for training, don’t have time for anything. This period is not easy for us. We’ve a special game tomorrow in the cup, so we don’t have time or the chance to fix something. Same in the Champions League. But tomorrow we have to win; we don’t have a choice. The end of the season is 10 days away, so the next 10 days is the most important for us. Until now we have done a great job. Hopefully we’ll continue to do our best.”
ON THREAT POSED BY NASR:
“They played three days ago, so have one more day’s rest than us. It will be a difficult game. Al Nasr have a good team, especially in attack with players like Ibrahima Toure and Brett Holman. They also want to pass to the semi-finals. They may be tired, too, but they will try their best against us. Every time every team plays against us, they want to do their best. We are a big challenge for everyone. Also, the President’s Cup is a big target for them. If we continue to play well in defence, like the last period, I’m sure we’ll win the game.”
ON DEFENCE BEING KEY:
“My team have to be serious. From the first minute, play well, play strong and give good respect to Al Nasr. I know my players will be thinking about the end of the season, about the Champions League, but the President’s Cup is also an important challenge, an important competition for us. I’m sure we’ll do a good job tomorrow. For me, the big benefit is in the last eight games we’ve conceded just one goal. This is a fanatic job from my team, and our defence play very well. Not only the defensive line, but the whole team.”
ON MAINTAINING FOCUS:
“It’s not easy. Because everybody now expects a big result from us, for us to win. I told my players, ‘we took the championship – fantastic’. But if we lose something now, we’ll be a bad team; I’ll be a bad coach. It’s the reality of our job. We must keep our concentration for the next 10 days. I know we can, but if something bad happens against us we must accept everything. Since February 4, we’ve played every four days, which is not normal, not easy. Not that I don’t believe in my team, only because we are tired and maybe sometimes my players’ minds are outside the pitch. But my players have shown character many times, they are serious. We shall be ready.”
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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