Al Arabi coach Heimir Hallgrimsson spoke to the media ahead of their 2019-20 QNB Stars League Week 3 match against Umm Salal.

“Seven of our players, both Qatari and overseas recruits, were away on national duty during the fortnight-long break. We worked with other players and tried to correct our mistakes in the two games so far.

“We also tried during the break to watch Umm Salal’s matches in the last two rounds. They’re a good team and I congratulate their coach (Raul) Kaneda for his work with the team.

“We respect Umm Salal very much and know that our confrontation with them won’t be easy.

“As for our 1-1 draw with Al Duhail in the last round, we did well against Al Duhail. That result indicated the progress we’ve made and I hope we put up better performances.

“It’s too early to talk about our title chances. We’re working hard and we know that we still have areas for improvement.

“I’m happy to see Al Arabi fans at matches. I hope it won’t be any different at the Umm Salal game. We count on their continued support.

“We’re still trying to build a team for the future and we’ve a lot more work to do. We’ll fight for every point,” said Hallgrimsson.