Umm Salal coach Aziz Ben Askar spoke to the media ahead of their 2020-21 season QNB Stars League Week 20 match against Al Rayyan.

“Al Rayyan coach Laurent Blanc has done a good job so far, but for us, we want to play this match because we need to focus on ourselves and do a good job on the pitch. Our loss against Al Kharaitiyat in the last round was difficult to digest.

“Strange things happen in football. In some matches, you prepare well, but then football is unpredictable - you may get a penalty kick and waste it and then the match changes quickly. But I was happy because the players gave off their best and it is always the most important thing for me. We are doing well to prepare for every match from now.

“We benefited from the break as we continued our work. We got rest, which is good for the players. The rest was good because when you are playing regular matches, so you do not get time to rest.

“We are ready to play the three matches stacked together. We will fight until the last minute of every game. I spoke with the players and told them that we have three final matches awaiting us and we have to make every effort to improve our situation.

“The most important thing for us is to play aggressively and then we will see where our position will be. I am sure the players have the desire and deserve to be in a better position because they have worked hard since the beginning of the season,” Ben Askar.

Umm Salal player Ibrahim Elsadig said, “The match will certainly be difficult because both teams need points - Al Rayyan in order to maintain their position in the top four and Umm Salal to escape the relegation zone. Our preparations for the match have been were good. We will fight in a collective spirit and hope we get success. We have three matches left and we consider each of them as a final.”