Al Ain coach fears fixture sparsity could wreck Pro League momentum
Olaroiu admits motivation is a problem for his champions-elect
Dubai: Al Ain coach Cosmin Olaroiu admits he's having trouble motivating his players in pursuit of a tenth Etisalat Pro League title because the last four fixtures of the season are so spaced out.
After a 2-2 draw at Al Wasl's Zabeel Stadium on Saturday night, Al Ain are now eight points clear of Al Jazira. Their remaining games are against the champions, Emirates, Al Shabab and Ajman, dragging the league out by another 33 days.
The schedule is to allow for the midweek Asian Champions League and GCC Club Cup fixtures, but Al Ain are competing in neither.
Asamoah Gyan struck on 36 and 83 minutes either side of goals from Khalatbari and Juan Manuel Olivera on 63 and 65 minutes on Saturday, to salvage what was an unimpressive display by the title chasers.
Olaroiu said: "At the moment the biggest danger or enemy to Al Ain comes from ourselves.
"It won't be easy over these last four games and the most important thing will be maintaining that concentration and motivation.
"We risk losing concentration and treating training or the games easy."
