All Circumstances Associated with Absences Were Abnormal.. Pedro: Sights Set to Win All Remaining Matches of this Season
“We did not have a good space of time to prepare for matchweek 21 against Bani Yas. We have to be objective and say that it was only three days between our last match against Al Wahda and this upcoming match against Bani Yas. This is all that we got,” Pedro Emmanuel stated in the pre-match press conference held Sunday 14th March 2021.
Meanwhile, the Portuguese coach of Al Ain stressed that all he could do within this tight schedule is to focus on recovering the players and provide them with the proper conditions to be ready for the next match that would be held at home on Tuesday 16 March 2021 at 20:15.
He also pointed out that his squad would play each match as they are finals and win them all to progress through the standing table and be with the top teams.
Commenting on his team’s victory over Al Wahda, thrashing them by 4-0, he said: “Derby is a derby! Winning Al Wahda by four clean goals was important and gave our players self-confidence, considering that we missed 15 players at that match. Most importantly than winning the home team, we have seen young players who proved themselves to be up to it and exhibited their quality skills. They deserved that chance and proved that we could play as one team. It is a good indication that when we play with the spirit of one team, we will be stronger than ever. We are trying to do this on the pitch, which is what we must do if we are planning to be one of the top teams of the league. To do so, we have to win the remaining six matches.”
He stated that he wishes he could recover any player out of the 15 absent players as “it is abnormal when the team throughout the whole season has been missing a player each match. This harms the team’s performance. We have to change the team’s lineup per week and play differently compared to the previous matches.”
“Our situation is completely different from Bani Yas. They have a consistent lineup, and they are doing great this season. They change one player each week, and they might not. Bani Yas is a good team, and their players enjoy quality skills, and this serves the best interest of their team,” Pedro hailed Bain Yas players and performance.
Pedro Emmanuel concluded his statement by pointing out that his team’s match against Bani Yas would be difficult, but he believed that it is all about the team spirit that would enable the team to fight and snatch each match’s three points. “It is crucial to continue doing this until the end of the season.”
