Doha: Defending champions Lekhwiya will go into their round of 15 clash against Qatar Sports Club with aims of winning their seventh successive game as the Qatar Stars League (QSL) resumes today after a short winter break.
Third-placed Lekhwiya play Qatar SC today at Al Gharafa Stadium.
“If you want to beat us, you will have to do something special against us,” coach Djamel Belmadi said on Thursday in a pre-match press conference.
“Every day, in every single training session, I can see my players are focussed and they also have this regret about the results that we had in the beginning of the season, about the points that we have missed,” Belmadi said.
“That’s something that we are not happy about. We have lost enough points already. So we will not lack motivation going into any game. I am not saying we are going to win every game. But we will not go into any match lacking motivation or concentration,” he added.
Belmadi, who has helped Lekhwiya camp behind points leaders Al Rayyan and El Jaish after six consecutive wins, is not under-estimating Qatar SC.
“They are a team that had a difficult start of the season. In the last 2-3 games they are in better shape, have better results,” Belmadi said.
“They have good individual players too. We want to continue winning but know that it will not be easy. We have to be careful and focussed for this last game. We don’t want to go into the holiday mood before the game. We want to get a positive result in this game and have a good break after that,” the Algerian added.
“We are pleased about our previous results. It was not perfect but there were a lot of positive things. The most important thing is the results. We want to continue but there’s a break after this match,” Belmadi said.
“The break is important for everybody. Lekhwiya started early this season because of the Asian Champions League quarterfinals. We will have a good break where we will prepare ourselves well. We are working with the administration to see what we can do - whether to stay in Doha or go somewhere else.
“Many big clubs are coming to Doha for their training camps, so it will be strange for me to take my team elsewhere. As for my team, I am please what I have. I might look to change 1-2 players in key positions. But I am okay if I have to play the second part of the season with the same squad. I have total trust in my players,” he said.
Qatar SC coach Sebastiao Lazaroni urged his players to build on the momentum gained in December when his side picked up a few points.
“The second part of the league is going to be very important. We know that Lekhwiya have been very strong in their last few matches. For that we have had an intense preparation for this match,” Lazaroni said.
“We have worked on the technical and tactical aspects. We are looking to continue the progress that the team has shown recently. We are much better than before - physically and tactically. Now is the moment for us to get the results. But for that the team has to play the best we can,” the Brazilian said.
“In our last game, our opponent had four shots at goal and they won 3-2. Of course we are talking about a different quality when it comes to Lekhwiya. They have special players. But we have to do the maximum that we can,” Lazaroni said.
Lazaroni said his wants total commitment on the pitch from his players.
“Each Qatar SC player must give his best. We should focus on not giving Lekhwiya players any space and create trouble for them with combinations and individual action. In these kind of matches, we will have to focus more than Lekhwiya. If we can show quality in our finishing and not make mistakes then we have a chance,” Lazaroni said.
“The actual break will come only after this game. It will be good for us. refresh the players. to have more energy for the second part of the league,” he said.
The game begins at 16:15pm.
THE PENINSULA
