Al Duhail players during a training session.
Doha, Qatar: Al Duhail are in a precarious situation in their Expo Stars League (ESL) title defence.
A 1-4 defeat to second-placed Al Gharafa on Friday pushed them to seventh place in the standings, prompting coach Christophe Galtier adopt a renewed strategy to turnaround the campaign of the Red Knights, who claimed a treble last season.
Al Duhail are struggling with 18 points this ESL season, tied with Amir Cup champions Al Arabi having just earned full points in five matches while losing six of their 14 fixtures. They are 15 points off leaders Al Sadd with only eight rounds left in the top flight.
Galtier feels it’s high time the team return to winning ways as he hinted bringing changes in his plans.
“No one in the club is satisfied with what happened in our previous matches, and we must win the upcoming matches, and I, as the team’s coach, will take some measures and things that will benefit the team in the coming period,” Al Duhail coach said ahead of Al Markhiya game to be played at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium today.
Al Duhail coach Christophe Galtier speaks during a press conference.
“In the last match [against Al Gharafa], we played an okay first half, but in the second half we conceded two goals and I waited for the players’ reaction, but we were not organised, which contributed to us not winning the match, and apart from the tactics and organisation on the field, the thing that bothered me was the lack of reaction,” said Galtier.
“We are a big club aiming for the top, whether in the league or any other tournament. To achieve this, the players must have the personality they had previously, but many players do not have the fighting spirit, and I will change this mentality in the upcoming matches,” the Frenchman said before adding Al Duhail will not take bottom-placed Al Markhiya lightly.
Al Markhiya pulled off an upset on Thursday when they defeated Al Wakrah 2-1 with coach Madjid Bougherra hoping the team to maintain their fine run.
“Al Duhail are one of the big teams in Qatar, and although they are currently not in a good position, they may appear before us in a different way than it was, because they are certainly looking for a win in this match just like us, and they are waiting. This is the opportunity to get three points, so it is a difficult match for both teams,” said Bougherra.
"The team’s ambition is to remain in the league. Given the ranking table and the team’s situation, we have to play every match in order to win, that’s all, and this is the mentality with which we want to fight every minute of the match. We need to provide more. From 100 per cent, and every player must give 200 per cent in his position, we will play all the matches in order to win and stay in the league," he added.
The other fixtures today will see Umm Salal meeting Al Shamal, while Al Ahli will take on Muaither.
