We Have Not Had Much Luck in Managing Certain Dossiers.. Hammad: Fans’ Satisfaction is the Real Indicator for Performance Assessment
In exclusive press statement to Al Ain FC Official website, H.E. Mohammed Obaid Hammad, Board Member of Al Ain Football Company and General Supervisor of First and Reserved Teams, stressed that Club’s Management understands grounds for the fans’ frustrations and their satisfaction highlighting that it is normal to fall short somewhere and to face certain setbacks sometimes. “We understand where the loyal Ainawi fans’ reactions and disappointment feelings come from, and their dissatisfaction with the performance of the team. We are well aware that the fluctuation of the public satisfaction index represents the tangible criterion for assessing the performance of any group of people at all levels in various fields, especially in the professional world of football.”
He added: “Over the past few seasons, the Boss clinched grand titles, exhibited high and lofty level of quality performance and achieved positive sound results. We have to admit that thanks for such brilliant achievements should go to Allah Almighty first and foremost, the generous sponsorship of the Club’s leadership, the massive support and the loyal Ainawi Nation and the efforts of every member of this big club,” Hammad stated while stressing that the team is currently facing countless challenges and it is the duty of the Club’s Management to connect dots based on its position and being held liable for all issues that had negative impact on the Al Ain First Team throughout the past period featured by poor performance and shocking loses.
“I assumed my responsibilities as a supervisor of the team for more than 10 years. I do believe that we are required at the current stage to apologize for our loyal fans and clarify all the grounds that led to such a significant decline in the team’s performance along with the shocking and unexpected loses. We have to be realistic and avoid justifications, redundancy and clichés. We have to refer to the language of reason, facts and number that never tell lies,” he stated.
He highlighted the fact that the past season was the greatest ever despite the challenges the team’s faced. “Everyone knows that we had an exceptional season last year, in addition to end that season as runners up of Real Madrid, champs of the FIFA Club World Cup- UAE 2018. Indeed, Al Ain kicked off their summer training camp ahead of all other local clubs participating in Sheikh Zayed Arab Club champions Cup and above all the team missed nearly 12 players during the training camp held for the UAE National Football Team.”
“The tight schedule of the FIFA Club World Cup forced the team to play critical and big matches during a very short time. We can simply describe those matches as finals and the warrior of the squad proved that they were up to it. The team won all international champion teams they faced and was a nightmare for all the teams because of their quality skills and determination in the field. All the spectators worldwide were supervised by the team who ended to play in the final match with heads high despite playing a match every 48 hours. Considering all the circumstances, including the pressure of matches, participating in several competitions and on top is the Clubs Mondial, and then playing in the AFC Champions League to be surprised by the decision of the former head coach’s decision to resign and move to another Gulf club in the mid of the season and his terrible decision not to add Hamed Tongo Doumbia to the team’s lists despite the dire need for his quality skills. All of these factors and more led the squad to lose their concentration.”
Hammad hailed the current the efforts of the current coaching team who tried to compensate and fill in the gaps by taking advantage of the multiskilled players of the Boss. He said: “The newly appointed head coach tried to compensate by changing the positions of the players, such as Shiotani who changed his position. However, we have to admit that we have not had much luck in managing all these challenges based on our principle and code of conduct not to interfere in the business or decisions of the former head coach, in addition to our keenness to have a stable squad and keep them away from distraction sources. This forced some injured players to keep going and play despite their injuries which affected negatively their performance in the pitch.”
Hammad concluded by stating: “All of these are lessons learned and we wished that we succeeded in giving the opportunity to young faces to be part of the first team and give the key players a break for recovery and be ready for the international competitions.”
