Al Markhiya coach Madjid Bougherra spoke to the media ahead of their 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League Week 7 match against Qatar SC.

“We will face Qatar SC in a different way, especially after a new coach took over the task of training them, and their victory in the last match in the league, so we will be extremely serious and ready to score points.

“Winning the three points in the previous match was important for the team to improve its position in the rankings. I am happy with the victory and it has given the players more confidence.

“Two weeks ago, after I took over the duties of coaching the team, the players’ performance has been steadily rising, which is a good thing for me as the team’s technical director. When building anything, you need time. The last three matches have strengthened the players’ self-confidence, and this is a good thing. They will win the next match. It will boost our confidence.

“Regarding the absence of some players from participating mainly in the last match, I would say that Moayed Hassan was suffering from a minor injury and we preferred to remove him from the starting lineup to undergo more rest. As for Naby Sarr, he missed training due to recovery after suffering a minor health illness. He was extremely ready for the match. I have a group of good players and the league is still in its infancy, and we could see key players on the bench, and vice-versa,” said Bougherra.

Al Markhiya player Diogo Rochinha said, “We trained seriously during this week and we want to move forward on the right path that the team did in previous matches.

“We are in the process of adapting to the style of the new coach who came to the team at an appropriate time, and the players were able to quickly implement his ideas since the first match with him.

“We look at the seventh round seriously, as we did in the last round. We want to win, get points, and escape from the bottom of the standings.”