Al Markhiya coach Madjid Bougherra spoke to the media ahead of their 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League Week 10 match against Al Arabi.

“The match will not be easy. We know this team, they have good players. We have prepared for this match like every match and we aspire to achieve victory.

“As you know, we are behind in the standings. One thing is certain, which is that we will not give up and the season is still long, and we are trying to get as many points as possible before the end of the first leg.

“We have confidence in the players and we are trying to give them more confidence during this period until we return to the path of victories, as we did in our match against Al Shamal, and when that happens, it will be good psychologically.

“The team needs points as they are the most important thing to stay in the league and from my experience with some players, it is only about confidence and maintaining enthusiasm and desire during the 90 minutes of each match. I believe that this is the key to winning matches and as I told the players we need to be playing every match as if it were a final, giving everything as if it were the last match, and not giving up as the season is still long.

“In order to win matches, we need to score goals, especially when you are behind in the table. Our striker Yousef scored some goals at the beginning of the season, but we need more and everyone must participate in scoring, not just Yousef. We are confident and waiting for the next match to try to continue moving forward,” said Bougherra.

Al Markhiya player Hamad Saeed said, “The players are keen to finish the first leg in a different way by obtaining maximum points, starting with the next match in which we hope to put up a good performance and give off everything we have with the aim of grabbing the points.”