Jesualdo Ferreira: A tough clash awaits us, Al-Kharaitiyat’s coaching change doesn’t matter

Al-Sadd head coach Jesualdo Ferreira stressed on the difficulty of his side’s upcoming QNB Stars League clash with Al-Kharaitiyat, which will be played at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium on Thursday.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Ferreira said: “Some might think that playing Al-Kharaitiyat will be easy because they are at the bottom of the league table but actually, it will be really tough. We have seen this on many occasions before, which confirms that it is going to be a crucial and difficult fixture. We will need to put up our best performance possible in order to get the win, without looking at the names of the players on either team.”

“We lost the league title on two previous occasions because we failed to win against mid-table and lower-ranked teams. This taught me an important lesson, which is that you cannot underestimate any team in the QSL. Instead, we have to play at your best level to get the three points.”

As for the change at the helm of Al-Kharaitiyat, Ferreira said: “This may not be a negative factor at all, but rather it could be a plus because it motivates the team to perform well, especially as they are facing Al-Sadd, against who everyone strives to give their best. And so, we expect a strong performance from Al-Kharaitiyat after the coaching change. We are only thinking on giving the best we can, and not at the situation of the opponent.”