Dubai: With only six matches remaining, Al Shabab coach Caio Junior is looking to avoid the mistakes of last season and end up among the top teams in the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) this year.
After being among the leaders towards the end of last season, Al Shabab managed just two points in their last seven matches to end in fourth place, a clear 20 points away from champions Al Ahli.
“I think we have already done better than last season this year after winning our match [against Sharjah] last week,” Junior told media here on Tuesday.
“From now on we need to believe that we can win against any team, be it a big team like Al Jazira or Al Ain or a smaller one like Emirates,” he added.
The Brazilian, who turned 50 earlier in March, is certainly not taking anything for granted against Emirates Club Ras Al Khaimah, their Round 21 opponents on Thursday night.
“They have had a completely different second round of matches as they have drafted in some very good foreign players. We will take nothing for granted against them,” Junior said.
“We need to win and the players know this. We will be going there to play one of the most important matches of the season on Thursday. We need the three points badly so that we can stay among the top and not falter like we did last year,” he cautioned.
After 20 rounds, Al Shabab are currently in third place with 40 points — two away from second-placed Al Jazira and six from leaders Al Ain. Al Wahda are in fourth with 36 points while Al Nasr are in fifth with 31 points.
“We don’t need to worry about other teams. We have our goal before us and that is to win as many points as we can against the remaining six teams. We just need to believe and everything is possible,” Caio Junior said.
However, the coach’s plans may take a bit of a hit as midfielder Rashid Hassan got injured during training while Azizbek Hydarov is yet to return following Uzbekistan’s friendly match against Japan played earlier on Tuesday.
“I have a Plan B in mind, but these two players [Hydarov and Hassan] are crucial to the team at this stage. Somehow we need to believe we can and I expect my players to rise to this challenge,” Caio Junior said.
