Former champs Al Gharafa hope good times will return

(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Al Gharafa chief Sheikh Hamad bin Mohamed al-Thani said yesterday that the former Qatar Stars League (QSL) champions are seeking a return to good times in the second phase of the season.
Al Gharafa, placed 10th out of 14 teams with a tally of 15 points, have been a pale shadow of themselves struggling on and off the pitch in the first four months of QSL.
"We are not satisfied with the team's performances and we can feel the dissatisfaction of the club fans," Sheikh Hamad said yesterday.
"We are aiming at regaining the balance and seeking good results in the coming games. I have huge confidence in the players getting back to where we belong with quality performances," Sheikh Hamad added.
Commenting on the decline of Al Gharafa in the first four months of the season, he said: "Some of the professional players weren't lucky recently and didn't perform well. Also, we witnessed lots of missed goal-scoring opportunities in our games."
Regarding the new head coach who will take over from caretaker coach Al Habib Al Sadeq, he said: "We will make an announcement on the coach in the coming days. Some discussions are currently going with the new coach."
When asked about changes during the transfer window, he said: "Definitely the team will be supported during the transfer window. We are seeking to make the team stronger and better in order to return to winning form."
Al Gharafa, who beat Measimeer in the first leg by one goal to nil, take on the same opponents on January 2, 2016, at Al Wakrah Stadium.
Meanwhile, Al Sadd have resumed training after a five-day break following their 5-1 win over Mesaimeer in Round 14 of the Qatar Stars League.
The team are preparing for the upcoming match against Umm Salal in Round 15, which will be played on January 3 at the Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium of Al Ahli Club. The technical staff, led by head coach Jesualdo Ferreira, have put in place a training and physical programme for the players who were returning after a period of rest, in order to get them to the required levels of fitness and readiness before playing the match against Umm Salal.
The players began the session by running around the boundary of the field for 20 minutes after which they trained without the ball. Later, the players underwent both individual and group training with the ball before moving on to group movement with the ball, attacking the goal from the wings and from deep.
Meanwhile, the session also saw the return of the forward Saleh Bader after his return from the Qatar national Olympic team camp for the Asian U23 Championship set to be played in Qatar in January.
The next few days will see Hassan al-Haydos join the team for training after his complete recovery from an ankle injury he sustained in the match against El Jaish. Xavi Hernandez is currently undergoing a recuperation programme under the supervision of the medical staff in order to return to training.