Ivan Leko: We Are Required to Go on With the Positive Results
“It was not an easy match, and we only kicked off our pre-match preparations two days ahead of the match, specifically when the international players joined the squad following the end of their mission with the National teams,” Ivan Leko justified the unsatisfactory performance of his team during the post-match press conference.
He went on to say: “The team showed their genuine charisma and fighting spirit until the last minute of the match, and they won their match.”
On the new formation he used in this game, he said: “For the first time, we played with two forward players, Laba and Caio, and certainly we are required to boost up our efforts and improve the team’s performance.”
“Definitely, we would analyze the match tonight and would take the right actions to fix things and to keep on the victories and positive results track,” he said.
Ivan stated that the team missed two key players by the end of this match, Jamal Marouf, and Mohammed Khalfan, who would undergo further medical tests to assess their status and when they could rejoin the squad.
Responding to a question on how he is planning to handle the poor performance of his team against teams placed at the bottom of the standing table and vice-versa, he said: “In football games, we should not deal with the teams on the basis of competing or non-competing teams as the result by the end of the day is the same, i.e., winning three points only regardless of winning Hatta or Al Jazira. I had stated before that during the FIFA days, we were training with an incomplete squad, but we have to be professional and criticize ourselves. In Al Sharjah match, I was happy although we lost the match, and we would correct the mistakes and ensure not to waste chances.”
Commenting on a remark on whether his team is missing a playmaker, he said: “A responded to this remark three months ago. It is a fact that we have the best strikers and wingers who enjoy high-quality skills. Therefore, we should not seek any excuses and or cry for not having a playmaker as much as we have to spot the right solutions that suit the team’s style of playing. It is the responsibility of the head coach and players to work hard and enhance the concept of collective play on the pitch.”
As for the reason why Mohammed Abdul Rahman insisted on dealing with all set-pieces in the match, he said: “I tasked him to be in charge of all set-pieces in tonight’s match for he is skillful in kicking the ball with his right foot. He might not be on his day in this match, and if you wanted to assess any player’s performance, you should watch his performance in all past matches. “Ajab” did well in other matches, created chances, assisted in scoring goals, and his performance should be hailed.”
