Al Shabab coach aims to keep pressure off players

Dubai: Al Shabab manager Obaid Al Hubaitha is unwilling to put undue pressure on his players as they head into the final leg of preparations for the new season.

"The Super Cup is like any other match. We do not want to put undue pressure on our players by terming this as a local derby," Al Hubaitha told Gulf News, a day after returning from their European training camp.

"We don't want to over-hype this match for fear of losing some of our players to injuries," Al Hubaitha added. As the defending league champions Al Shabab earn the right to play President's Cup winners Al Ahli in the Super Cup clash on September 14.

Injuries

This is the first time ever that the UAE moves into professional mode with all players getting full contracts with their respective clubs. The Super Cup will be the first of five competitions scheduled to be held through the 2008-'09 season. The etisalat Football League will get under way the following week with Al Shabab hosting Al Shaab on September 19.

"The Super Cup is just the beginning of the season, so we really do not need to go all out and risk injuries to the players," Al Hubaitha said.

Led by the astute former Brazilian World Cup squad member Toninho Cerezo, Al Shabab maintained a strong grip on the leadership throughout to win the title ahead of Al Jazira last season.

This year too their preparations have been good following their three-week stay in Italy.

Strains

"The training camp in Italy was absolutely amazing. We got a chance to play against some top teams and that will really help us during the season," the official added.

Al Shabab lost 0-2 to both Lazio and Sampdoria, but went on to beat AC Siena by a solitary goal.

"Besides this, we got a chance to play against the Italian under-17 team," Al Hubaitha said.

However, a minor bother for the Al Shabab squad is the number of injuries among their players.

"Luckily these are minor things like muscles pulls and strains and we should be able to sort these out in the next week of so," Al Hubaitha stated.