Doha, December 28 (QNA) - Umm Salal coach Patrice Carteron stressed the difficulty of their match against Al Ahli and that they will play with all their strength to improve their position.

Speaking ahead of their Doha Bank Stars League Week 11 match against Al Ahli, Carteron said: “It will be tough and challenging. I have great respect for the opponents, who recently delivered outstanding performances especially in the AFC Champions League.

“The Al Ahli match will be very difficult. The opponents possess high quality and are in a strong position after their impressive performance in AFC Champions League Two. However, our focus is first and foremost on ourselves and we strive to give our best and play with all our strength.

“Our goal is to improve our position in the standings, maintain the fighting spirit within the team and work on protecting our goal and not losing this spirit,” said Carteron.

For his part, Al Ahli assistant coach Bruno Oliveira said: “It is important to maintain our good form and positive results in the Doha Bank Stars League when we face Umm Salal.

“We have prepared well for the Umm Salal match and all players are eager to deliver a strong performance. I acknowledge the difficulty and technical strength of our opponents, especially Umm Salal’s organized defence, midfield and attack, and therefore we will give our all to achieve the desired result.

“We have been working with coach Younes Ali to improve the team's attacking and organizational skills to ensure effective performances that fulfil the club's ambitions,” said Bruno. (QNA)