Al-Sadd head coach Javi Gracia addressed the media and spoke of the difficulty of his side’s upcoming game against Qatar SC in Round 13 of the QNB Stars League.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Gracia said: “The next game against Qatar is coming in a really difficult moment for us.”
“In this moment, we have many players out of the squad. Some of them injured after the last national team tournament, and others are playing in the Africa Cup.”
He added: “I think all the teams could be in a similar situation. To play game by game every three, four days is really tough. I don’t like to complain about the players we don’t have, but in this case, I have to speak about that. It’s something really difficult for us. We try to do our best and that’s all.”
Asked about his side’s position and lead at the top of the league table, the coach said: “I don’t like to see the table because just as I see the table, I can see the date and we are in January. There are many months left. We have to play many games.”
“We prefer to be focused in the next game. And as I told you before, I think the next game will be very tough with the situation we are in.”
Gracia also praised the upcoming opponents. “The last results for Qatar SC were not good, but they competed well,” he said. “I think they have a well organised team. They have very good players like Javi Martinez, a Spanish player who I know really well. He’s from my hometown. He played in the best teams in Spain, in Europe, and this is the level of their team.”
“They may lose or they man win, but they do have great players. And I’m sure it will be a very equal game.”
