Al Rayyan coach Nicolas Cordova spoke to the media ahead of their 2022-2023 season QNB Stars League Week 5 match against Umm Salal.

“This is a difficult period for the team and the club, as we have not succeeded in obtaining the points we had hoped for. Unlike other teams, we are going through an exceptional situation given the absence of a large number of foreign and local professional players which has greatly affected the team. I cannot blame the players and I cannot put the responsibility on them. They have given it their all. We hope to achieve the goal which is to get the three points which the team deserves given the performance.

“If we were in a normal situation, we would not have talked about pressure, but pressure comes on the players and the club if the team is complete and all options are available to achieve the desired goals. In our case, it is an exceptional case. We lost our most important professional in Yacine Brahimi, who is considered as the best player in the league, and who has not yet been replaced by a player of the same level. This affects the team and Al Rayyan is a big club.

“I respect the Umm Salal team, which relies on counter-attacks, and have achieved good results in recent matches,” said Cordova.

Al Rayyan player Mowafak Awad said, “We train daily and implement the coach’s instructions. We will give everything we have to win and we hope to start in a new way in the next match.

“Umm Salal have some distinguished players in attack and new professionals who help the team and we respect them, but we will strive to win the three points.”