Xavi: We cannot relax against Al-Wakrah, we will rotate some players

Al-Sadd head coach Xavi Hernandez spoke of the readiness of his side ahead of the next game against Al-Wakrah, in Week 19 of the QNB Stars League. The match will be played on Thursday evening at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Xavi said: “It’s an important match ahead of us after we won the league title. Our main goal has been achieved in the tournament, but we still have 4 matches left.”

“I think it is the right time to rotate between the players of the squad, especially the starters. They have played a lot of matches and suffer from some light injuries and we want to rest them, but despite this we want to win and end the competition in the best way.”

Regarding Al Wakrah, Xavi said: “Al Wakrah, as you know, have been in a difficult situation and they will be strong competitors in this match. They have an excellent coach and I respected his work not only in this season but from last season where he caused us many difficulties during the game.”

He added: “We cannot relax because, as you know, all the matches in this tournament are difficult. Now we want to continue working and achieve a new victory for the team.”

The Al-Sadd coach concluded by saying: “We must continue with what we started, during the next four matches. We are Al Sadd team and whoever will play has the opportunity to show his capabilities, and everyone has been important to us during the last period. We are a collective team and we play as one group and our goal is always to continue working to achieve victories in all tournaments.”