Al-Sadd head coach Juanma Lillo shared his thoughts on the team’s preparation, while addressing the media ahead of the team’s QNB Stars League Round 9 game against Al-Rayyan on Wednesday.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Juanma said: “Looking at the World Cup from the perspective of Al-Sadd, we had to be most attentive because we had a large number of players at the tournament.”
“As for training, we had to complete the squad with young players for more than one and a half months, and I think we have been doing well.”
About facing Al-Rayyan in the next game, the coach said: “We are going to face a good opponent who has good players. It will be a very difficult game. We need to see how our team is with so many players still with the national team and at the same time some who have returned but at different timings, so let’s see how the situation is.”
Juanma also praised the national team players who were at the World Cup, saying: “They have earned the respect of everyone in Qatari football. They are players who have the level needed to play at the World Cup and they can be very proud of themselves.”
He added: “When those players returned, they came at different timings and what we have now is another big group in the Gulf Cup. Logically, we must be stronger but the reality is that we have not yet all been together.”
The coach also stated the team is training well and he expressed his hope that the players will be able to perform at their best in the next game.
