Al Sadd coach Jesualdo Ferreira spoke to the media ahead of their QNB Stars League Week 11 match against Umm Salal.

“The match with Umm Salal is a new challenge for us, especially because they are solid in all departments of the game. We have had great difficulties and October was a bad month for us.

“We lost the chance to reach the AFC Champions League final. We lost the top spot in the league and hope to put all those disappointments behind us by getting back to the winning path.

“The Umm Salal clash will be very difficult for us. I hope we put up a great performance for the fans, who are keen to see the team win the prestigious league shield again.

“These are tough times for us psychologically, but I am fully convinced of the ability of the players to overcome this situation and come back with full force to compete for the league title," said Ferreira.

Al Sadd goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham said, “We are ready for this game, which we expect to be difficult, but we are focusing on the performance we are going to put up. We hope that we succeed in winning three points.”