Riyadh: Yousuf Al Sarkal, President of the UAE Football Association (UAE FA), says the Whites will do everything they can to defend their Gulf Cup title this month, despite the tournament falling just weeks away from the Asian Cup.

Coach Mahdi Ali had been expected to field a weaker team in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from November 13-26, in order to arrive fresh in Australia for January 9-31. But Al Sarkal has now confirmed expectations for the two tournaments are equal.

“We are not participating in Riyadh just for the experience,” he said at a press conference at the UAE FA headquarters in Al Khawaneej on Sunday. “We are the defending champions and we plan to maintain the same standards.

“Now we are champions, our ambition is to always be number one and we intend to be number one at both the Gulf Cup and Asian Cup, but it won’t be easy.”

The UAE had gone on a 20-game unbeaten run following the appointment of coach Mahdi Ali in September 2012, during which time the national team won their second Gulf Cup in 2013 in Bahrain and qualified for the 2015 Asian Cup.

However, recent friendlies against much higher ranked opposition have given the impression that the UAE’s form has dipped heading into the Gulf Cup, despite impressive goalless draws against Norway, Paraguay and Australia.

A recent 4-0 defeat at home to Uzbekistan adds to the illusion that Ali’s side are on the decline, but that game was played without a host of first team players, not least Al Ain midfielder Omar Abdul Rahman. The 2013 Gulf Cup player of the tournament had been receiving treatment in Europe for a knee injury and his fitness remains in doubt.

Add to this the fact the UAE have been dealt a tough group alongside 2009 champions Oman, record ten-times champions Kuwait and 2013 runners-up Iraq, and hopes of a successful title defence begin to fade. But despite this Al Sarkal remains hopeful.

“I advise the players to have high concentration during the group stage,” he said. “They should not be careless, but stay keen, vigilant and alert during these matches.

“We wish to proceed carefully step-by-step. Our first objective is to get out of the group and then we can start to think about reaching the final, if we get to the final, then we can start to think about the championship.”

The UAE have never won a Gulf Cup on Saudi soil, and their best finish inside The Kingdom in three previous attempts was a runners-up spot to Iraq in 1998.

Retaining the title is also notoriously difficult. With the exception of Kuwait, who won the first four titles consecutively from 1970 to 1976, the title has only been retained twice since then, once again by Kuwait in 1996 and 1998 and then by Saudi Arabia in 2002 and 2003.

“All sides are equal and there are always surprises in the Gulf Cup,” added Al Sarkal, who was also in office for the UAE’s first Gulf Cup win in 2007. “We may not be able to control injuries, refereeing decisions or last minute penalties, but we will always demonstrate a readiness to overcome such obstacles. At the end of the day we wish to see our players come home with something that will make our people happy.

“We have the ambition to win but if we unfortunately lose this tournament, we will look to the Asian Cup,” said Al Sarkal, whose UAE side have been drawn with Iran, Qatar and Bahrain in Canberra. “Almost all the GCC countries [with the exception of Yemen] are competing in the Asian Cup, so it will be like another Gulf Cup in Australia.

“Of course, we are the Gulf Cup defending champions and are expected to win, and it will be hard to accept a defeat, but if that is the case we have to accept this and move on quickly, because the Asian Cup is so close. There can only be one winner, seven teams must go home and the UAE is still developing in so many areas.”