Umm Salal coach Patrice Carteron spoke to the media ahead of their 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League Week 11 match against Al Markhiya.

“We’re ready and my team has a lot of ambitions. We went through our training well over the past few days and we realize that we will face a strong opposition. Our preparations have been normal, like the rest of the matches and all the players are ready.

“It is great that we defeated Al Duhail, the defending champions, in the last round. This shows that the team is improving. I felt frustrated after facing many strong teams in the league without achieving a positive result, and this time we won, and the reason for the victory was the wonderful spirit among the team.

“Umm Salal are always under the spotlight and I am very proud of the players and I am also happy with what has been achieved and we deserve it as we have strong players this season and the spirit is good. We have a strategy and everyone is starting to understand it, and understand my philosophy step by step. And, we are continuing to improve and we must continue in order to achieve more victories,” said Carteron.

Umm Salal player Andy Delort said, “Of course, we were waiting for the victory that was achieved in the last round against a big team. And, it was actually done in a good way. We were strong and warriors at the same time and this victory gives a great incentive to the players. Umm Salal has distinguished players and we realize that we will play an important match, and we will be fully prepared. We hope to continue the winning run and keep moving forward.”