Ferreira: We play to win; facing lower-ranked teams is more difficult

Al-Sadd head coach Jesualdo Ferreira has spoken of the importance and the difficult of the upcoming QSL Round 7 game against Al-Wakrah, which is set to be played at the Saoud bin Abdulrahman Stadium on Sunday.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference earlier today, Ferreira said: “It will be a tough match and a test for Al-Sadd after the end of the break which saw the absence of many of our internationals who were away with the senior and Olympic national teams.”

He added: “At Al-Sadd, we focus on our work regardless of the opponent. We always strive for the best and we play with a mentality to win and get the three points to stay in competition for top spot.”

Al-Wakrah are coming into the game with a new coach and when asked about his statement about getting a result against Al-Sadd, Ferreira said: “It’s natural for the Al-Wakrah coach to say that to motivate his team. The thing is that he has been with theam for only 4 days. We know the Al-Wakrah players but we don’t know the coach’s style. He needs time to get positive results.”

Asked about Khalfan’s availablitiy for the match, Ferreira said: “Khalfan was injured before the start of the league; he came back for the game against Lekhwiya and played for 20 minutes before being injured again. He is set to return to group trainig on Friday but he will not play in matches until he is completely ready, both technically and physically.”

The Al-Sadd coach also added: “I am waiting for the return of the international players; Al-Sadd had 13 players away on national duty during the breakk. It is not easy to work on the group while there are so many absentees. Al-Sadd has an excellent group of youngsters and I always interested in what they have to give. We try to have them participate regularly, like in the case of Meshaal Al-Shammari and Salem Al-Hajri. I am always in touch with the club’s strategy of using youth in matches.”

Ferreira went on to conclude by saying: “Playing against a lower-ranked team is more difficult than playing a higher-ranked one. They play with more motivation and it will be difficult to play against a team who are set up in a defensive style and do not give us space. However, we will give the best we can to get the win.”