Al Gharafa coach Slavisa Jokanovic spoke to the media ahead of their 2020-21 season QNB Stars League Week 14 match against Al Arabi.

“In all the matches coming our way, we are looking to compete strongly and to aim for wins. This time, we face Al Arabi, who are going through a positive phase during which they have achieved many victories. On the other hand, Al Gharafa dropped many points though the team’s performance was not bad.

“We have to keep working hard to make things better for ourselves. In the last three matches, there was a relative change in the way Al Arabi played. They have not conceded goals and got full points. In my view, this is the best period for any side. Al Arabi certainly will play against us with high confidence and therefore we are required to prepare ourselves and be ready for this challenge.

“In football, one side wins and another side loses. What is required is that we continue to work with our group of players and always motivate the team so as not to lose the confidence of winning. We tried to win over Al Rayyan and we were the best in terms of ball possession. But when it came to finding the net, Al Rayyan players were more effective. Through three shots on goal, they managed to score two goals and missed a penalty kick. Our players made a great effort to reverse the result, but we were not able to score goals. I cannot blame the players so much despite the fact that we lost the match points.

“What is required now is we continue working, to be responsible and to show the desire to improve things in the team,” said Jokanovic.

Al Gharafa player Saeed Al Hajj said, “We will face Al Arabi and our preparations for it have been normal. It is an important match for us because we are coming from two draws and a loss and we are looking for some form of compensation. We will do our best to get a win. Al Arabi are achieving positive results and it is a good team and it has developed from the beginning of the season but our ambition right now is to win against them.”