Al Wakrah coach Jose Murcia spoke to the media ahead of their 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League Week 18 match against Umm Salal.

“We focused on the recovery process after the end of the last match and we were keen to ensure the readiness of all players. I stress that we were keen to learn from previous matches, especially since we have an effective dynamic that will help us to return to our usual level and the path to victories.

“We are now going through the most difficult stage in the league because all the upcoming matches will be final matches. We realize that we are very close to our desired goal, which is to finish the season in the top four, then search for the best after that, and we have great respect for all competitors, and one of the most important things for me is to believe in ourselves and also have belief in our style and the team’s dynamics. I have great confidence in the team.

“The Umm Salal team is performing at a consistent level, as we saw in its previous matches. In my opinion, it will be an interesting match. We will do our best to achieve victory, and we at Al Wakrah believe in ourselves 100 per cent. We may have many opportunities leading to victory and getting the three points.

“We must take advantage of the morale boost we got after winning the last match and take into account that the performance in that match is the usual performance for the team, which will keep us on the path to victories,” said Murcia.

Al Wakrah player Rabeh Yahya said, “The team’s preparations for the Umm Salal match did not differ much from the preparations for previous matches. We are trying to make the utmost efforts possible in training and matches in order to continue victories and maintain the process of collecting points until the end of the season.

“There is no great pressure on the team because we are up to the responsibility and the stage that the team went through after the long break. Therefore, I confirm that the team is capable of overcoming all obstacles in order to continue victories.”