It’s difficult to win the league now, says Ammouta

By Sports Reporter/DohaAl Sadd head coach Hussein Ammouta admitted yesterday that winning the Qatar Stars League is a difficult proposition after his team suffered a couple of key reverses in the past two weeks.But the Moroccan said that Al Sadd, who trail leaders Lekhwiya by seven points (52-45)  with just four matches to be played, have still not given up hope and will be doing their best to push their rivals. “Of course we have played a lot of games in a very short period. It is very important to have good results. Results are not linked to the name of the teams but to the work and the performance of the team,” Ammouta said ahead of Al Sadd’s match against Al Khor today.“Our ambition is to win all the games. I accept that to win the league is now difficult. We are keeping our hopes alive until it is finished mathematically. So we will play our games giving it our all. We will miss some important players but we have the confidence in our replacements that they will give it their best.  “The various breaks that we have had in the league and the busy schedule have made it really difficult for us. It has been tough to keep the players focused and motivated. During these breaks we lost eight players to the national team and three players to the Olympic team.” he said.Because of their involvement in the Asian Champions League, Al Sadd and Lekhwiya have had packed schedules, and The Wolves would be missing several players for today’s clash.“Hassan al-Haydos will be rested for this game because he is injured. Ibrahim Majid is also not playing, and maybe Khalfan Ibrahim will miss the match also. We have to think about the health of the players more than the results,” said Ammouta.Al Khor head coach Lazlo Boloni, however, said busy schedules cannot be blamed for poor performances.“With regards to our bad performances, we cannot blame the fitness of the players for that. You have to play 26 games this season and you cannot get tired. “We cannot give any excuse for our bad run of results in the last three games. We are preparing our team to finish in a strong way and get some good results and restore our reputation,” said Boloni.“Now we are playing a team that we know has top quality. We know what they can do. We will be ready and will not give up and try to win. When you speak about Sadd, we all know that they possess quality.” Al Khor are 11th on the table with just 26 points from 22 matches.“Sadd is a big team, a strong team that can win big. I think that the league is finished for them because the gap is now seven points to Lekhwiya. So they may be focusing on the Asian Champions League but that doesn’t mean that they will take this game lightly. They will play this game with a professional mentality and try to win.” Defending champions Lekhwiya, meanwhile, will take on Al Arabi hoping to consolidate their grip on the tournament, which they are aiming to win for the fourth time in five years.Meanwhile yesterday, Al Ahli and Umm Salal played out a 1-1 draw. Al Ahli are fifth with 35 points, while Umm Salal are seventh with 31.