Dubai: Incoming coach Caio Junior has vouched to carry forward under-performers Al Shabab following a “most suitable pre-season” for the Dubai club.

Brazilian Junior, who replaced countryman Marcos Paqueta at the end of last season, promised that the pre-season has been among the best he has experienced as a coach.

Al Shabab were surprise leaders during the early part of the season, but managed to hold on to second spot going into the last phase of the Arabian Gulf League. However, a half-hearted push in the last five matches saw Al Shabab finish in fourth with 44 points, way behind champions and neighbours, Al Ahli (64 pts).

“The expectations and demands will always be there before a coach. The good thing this year is the pre-season camp that we had in Holland. I think we have put aside all our troubles of last season and started early and that has helped us reach a good level before the season starts in a couple of weeks,” Junior told Gulf News before their first training session at home on Monday.

“The time factor plays a crucial role in pre-season and I am glad we started early as I got the time to know my players and work towards the formation of a true unit for the new season. Now we have lined up a few more friendly matches and we will be ready to start off the season,” the Brazilian announced.

Al Shabab host former champions Al Ain on September 16 in their first match of the AGL. “My team will be competitive all the time. It is better to motivate modern-day players with smaller goals as they get time to soak in the pressure. So, the focus for us this year will be to set small goals while not forgetting the big picture and our immediate focus is on the next three matches,” he said.

Caio Junior has not made too many changes in last year’s squad as he has retained three of his foreign players, namely Carlos Villanueva from Chile, Azizbek Hydarov from Uzbekistan and Brazilian Edgar Bruno da Silva. But the 49-year-old has brought in Silva Henrique De Sousa Luvannor a versatile 24-year-old Brazilian who is settled in Moldova.

“I think these four foreign players are the best we could have got. All of them have played at a high level and are capable of performing at a high level as well. But Henrique [Luvannor] will be our ace. He will be the surprise of the league this year,” Junior said.