Al Gharafa coach Pedro Martins spoke to the media ahead of their 2022-2023 season QNB Stars League Week 18 match against Al Markhiya.

“Everyone is training well and I am happy to feel that the players have adapted to my style in the matches. There is a noticeable improvement in the performance of the players who fight and compete with each other in order to play.

“Al Markhiya are a good team, but Al Gharafa must show why we are in this position, and we still have five matches ahead of us. We must win this match and I know that it will be difficult, and there is no easy match in the league. We have to be patient in these kind of games.

“I know that they may rely on counterattacks, so we have to be careful because they are strong in this aspect. I consider all five of our matches as finals.

“We currently do not have absences and therefore all players are ready to play and in very good condition,” said Martins.

Al Gharafa player Abdullah Al Saei said, “Our preparations are as good as for all previous matches. We played a friendly match with the Korean national team and benefited from it.

“Al Markhiya are an organized team that has good players, but it is important for our players to focus and implement the coach’s instructions.

“Our fans are the first supporters of our players in these circumstances.”