Al Nasr may be going through a bit of bad patch but coach Ivan Jovanovic backed his team and said that the true test of their character will be how they respond to it.

The Blue Wave host Iranian club Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan in the return leg of the AFC Champions League and the Serbian has sounded out a rallying call to his team for the Group A fixture which kicks off at the Al Maktoum Stadium on Tuesday night.

Al Nasr didn't have a great start to their campaign in the Asian competition being handed a 2-0 defeat by Sepahan last week. And they couldn't continue their title defence of the President's Cup going down to Sharjah 5-4 on Saturday.

And though they are placed a distant third in the Arabian Gulf League this season the Dubai club have failed to hit the highs of 2014 and 2015 when they won the GCC Club Cup in 2014 as well as the Arabian Gulf Cup and the President's Cup last year.

"Of course we are going through a period where our team doesn't have good results. But then this happens in football. We are a strong team and we need to believe that we are and we need to fight hard to get good results and make a comeback" Jovanovic said on the eve of the game on Monday.

"So it is not just good results that make a good team but also bad results where a team can respond and come back from such results" the Serbian added.

Though Jovanovic is enduring his worst phase since taking over the club in 2013 the 53-year-old said his job was not on the line.

"If I am under pressure because of results then every coach who doesn't have good results is under pressure. But I'm not under pressure" he said.

"When a team doesn't have good results there will one thousand reasons to criticise the players and everyone. This is normal. What is important for me is that I'm working with good players and I believe in them. We are facing this bad period right now like a team and that makes you stronger for the upcoming games. This is my team and I work them. So if somebody has responsibility about the team it is me" added Jovanovic.

And Jovanovic said that Tuesday's fixture presents a new challenge. "We have a new game at our home and if we want to take something from this game we have to put in a much better performance. It is a new chance that we have and a new challenge that we face in front of us. And I believe we will respond much better tomorrow than we did seven days ago" he said.

Meanwhile Al Nasr defender Ahmed Al Yassi said the team will be looking to correct their poor showing.

"We know and we understand that the fans are upset after we lost to Al Sharjah but we will try to correct that with a good response against Sepahan" said Al Yassi.

Al Nasr will be without playmaker Luis Antonio Jimenez who had been sidelined after sustaining an injury against Al Sharjah.

Meanwhile Sepahan coach Igor Stimac said that it would be foolish to take Al Nasr lightly based on their recent results.

"We are not looking at any positives on Al Nasr's recent result domestically. We are concentrating on our work. We know Al Nasr are very serious opponents very well organised club with some really good players and them conceding five goals two days ago doesn't take them in the wrong direction. It will be a totally different game on Tuesday. They will take their chances to get some points and we need to find a way to stop them from doing that" said the former West Ham United defender.

"Al Nasr have world class players and if you give them time and space we will be hurt. So we need to be organised and we need to work as a team. I expect my players to repeat what they did in the first game" he added.