Al Sailiya coach Sami Trabelsi spoke to the media ahead of their QNB Stars League Week 16 match against Al Duhail.

“On behalf of all of us at Al Sailiya, I congratulate the Qatar national team on winning the Asian Cup. It was an outstanding achievement that brought a lot of laurels to this country.

“During the break, we worked on the players’ fitness as well as the integration of new players into the team, and played some friendly games to prepare the team for the next stage, which will be short. At the same time, results are important. In fact, all clubs were working for the better.

“We didn’t have the option to face the defending champions during the break. I hope the team would be ready for this confrontation, especially since the opponents have reinforced the squad.

“We always rely on collective performance and discipline. We do have technical and administrative stability.

“For me, I don’t say that I’m not afraid of slipping from the top-four position, especially since there’re many clubs that’ve supported their ranks with good players. The league will change and we hope that the level of competition will improve,” said Trabelsi.