Bresciano concedes title to Al Ain

Dubai: Second is the new first for Al Nasr, according to injured midfielder Mark Bresciano, who conceded the Etisalat Pro League title to Al Ain from the sidelines of his team's 3-3 draw at Al Ahli on Sunday.

Although Walter Zenga's Blue Wave outfit showed strength in character to twice equalise against the Red Knights, coming back from 2-0 down in the first half and 3-2 in stoppage time, Bresciano's post-match comments to Gulf News signalled a shift in focus.

Currently fourth on 29 points, ten behind Al Ain with six games left to play. So with the title all but beyond them, Bresciano appealed for Walter Zenga to stay on as coach in the hope they could challenge for the top honour next season.

"It will be difficult now. For us, the top spot has gone and we're fighting for second position. Obviously that's disappointing as we were chasing it for a while. We were up there and getting close. Especially losing to Dubai Club, who were bottom of the ladder, that made it even worse," said the 32-year-old Australian.

"The hardest one [result] to digest was leading 2-0 to Al Jazira at home and then conceding two in the last five minutes. That pushed us down overall.

"But that's football. We'll just look to improve every game. Last year Al Nasr finished third, this year we'll try for second and hopefully next year we'll try and win the title. We can't really complain, Al Nasr has had a good season. Hopefully we can just build on that."

Of coach Zenga, who hasn't been giving interviews in English or turning up to post-match conferences since belittling a journalist and asking reporters "Is everyone crazy in this country", Bresciano said: "Nothing comes easy and nothing comes quick. If you always have a programme, follow it and work on it, sometimes you just need time to be champions.

"Zenga's history as a player and a coach has inspired this team. He's done very well here at Al Nasr and shown he has great ability as a manager and I think if he does stay on Al Nasr has a great future," he said. 

Without a league title since 1986 and a President's Cup gong since 1989, Al Nasr's wait for silverware ticks over to 23 years at the end of this season.