Xavi: I’m disappointed and frustrated with the defeat, but the league is not over yet

Al-Sadd head coach Xavi Hernandez has expressed his grief over his side’s 3-0 loss to Qatar SC in the tenth round of the QNB Stars League.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Xavi said: “I’m very disappointed and frustrated to lose, we had a very bad first half and in the second half we fought to the end but did not succeed in scoring goals.”

He continued: “Now, we have a break and we must return with a different mentality. The league is not over yet and we have to think well and overcome what happened to us during this period.”

On the preparation for the Qatar SC match, Xavi said: “We were well prepared and we had excellent training but we did not translate that on the pitch. The performance in the first half and the defeatist mentality was unacceptable. I need to speak with the players about what happened in the first half. We must return strongly and play like we did in the start of the season.”

He added: “We have a good team and players of the highest level, they are only exhausted because of the continuous games with the club and the national team. They have psychological fatigue and not technical, as was evident in the first half.”

Asked if he feared dismissal in light of the team’s poor results, the coach said: “I am not afraid of being dismissed and I am confident in the state of my team.”

As for the upcoming league break, Xavi said: “It would be good but the players would go to the national teams and this is not a complaint, but I hope they will return without injury, so that we can prepare for the next stage.”