Rock-bottom Al Wakrah take on Al Shahania on Saturday evening in desperate need of a win to ensure survival in the QSL. Blue Waves coach Kais Yâakoubi spoke to the media ahead of the crunch relegation clash. 

Yâakoubi  opened up the press conference calling for concentration from his side.“If we defeat Al Shahania we will be on the same points as Shahania, tomorrow the match will be a real battle. My side must be mentally strong for this challenge and only then we will be able to progress and get the win we so desperately need.” 

“We are trying to keep everyone’s spirit positive in the side. It is a big challenge for us and now we have six games remaining to ensure that we survive in the league. Every match will be a cup final for us” noted the Tunisian tactician.   

The Blue Waves boss ended the press conference praising one of his star players “Mouhcine Moutouali came back in the last game against Al Sadd and made a real impact for us. We need him to be at his best if we are to beat Al Shahania.” 

As for Al Shahania they are second from bottom in the league and will be targeting just their third win of the season against Al Wakrah. Oryx boss Igor Štimac spoke with the media ahead of the Friday evening game. 

The Croatian coach opened up his press conference noting that his side will be without two key players for the relegation scrap. “This is an important game for us we must win. We will be without Álvaro Mejía and Muhannad Darjal through suspension. We are in a difficult situation, but we are optimistic and we are expecting a good game, and hopefully three points for my side.”

Responing to Kais Yâakoubi’s call of labelling the match as a battle.“I try to teach my players technical skills, but sometimes there are games where you have to fight. At the end of the day I feel that the technical elements can be the decisive match winners in such relegation battles.” 

Štimac  ended the press conference with a rallying call for his side ahead of their relegation matchup. “I would love to play in a match like this. Everything we have done in the last eight weeks has been positive, we are here to play ninety minutes of good football and I believe in my squads abilities and I am confident we can get a result.”