Abu Dhabi: Al Ain coach Zlatko Dalic has urged his team not to take their foot off the pedal when they take on Naft Tehran of Iran in their final AFC Asian Champions League Group B match at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium on Wednesday (7.45pm).
The new Arabian Gulf League (AGL) champions have already qualified for the next round of the continental competition, but their Croatian boss is not ready to rest on his laurels and has targeted the AFC title.
“From the game tomorrow we don’t need any points for qualification, but we will try our best to win,” Dalic said in a press briefing on Tuesday.
“We want to keep the momentum going, continue to play well and keep everything positive. We respect our opponents and they played well when we played against them in Iran. In the second half, we had many problems against this team.
“They also need to win against us to pass through and they will play a strong game.”
Al Ain are unbeaten in their Champions League campaign, with two wins and three draws ensuring they are top of the group with nine points, one in front of Naft and three ahead of Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor, who cannot overtake them due to their head-to-head record.
And Dalic, whose side are 11 points clear at the top of the AGL with just one match to play, acknowledged Al Ain are in fine fettle at the moment.
“Now is the time for my players because they are the champions and it is nice for everyone around. However, tomorrow [Wednesday] I want them to play well — in both defence and attack — and continue winning.
“We have to keep improving in the Champions League. We are definitely enjoying our time playing good football.”
But the Boss will be missing the services of Miroslav Stoch as the Slovak winger is serving a ban following a red card and altercation with the fourth official during their 1-0 win against Pakhtakor.
“We will not have Stoch but the rest of the players are there. Probably for the first time we have a full strength team for a match. Our job is not done as we have this Champions League and also the President’s Cup,” added Dalic.
While Dalic and his team need not worry about the result as they are assured of going through, Naft are only two points ahead of Pakhtakor and a win for the Uzbek champions at home to bottom side Al Shabab, of Saudi Arabia, would need the Iranians needing to beat Al Ain to progress.
Naft Tehran coach Ali Reza Mansourian acknowledged that his side’s 1-1 draw at home to Pakhtakor after losing to them 2-1 away could prove costly.
“We have to compensate for the draw at home against Pakhtakor, here against Al Ain. A point is not enough for us to ensure we qualify and our ambition is to win,” he said.
“We realise that it will be tough to beat Al Ain at home with the speed of their forward line, but we will do everything in our powers to win here. We are missing a few players, but those available will definitely provide the spark.”
