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Dibba Fujairah v Al Ain Pre-Match Press Conferences

Al Ain Head Coach Cosmin Olaroiu has urged his players to always respect their opponents and perform with the same intensity in each game, regardless of the opposing side’s ranking. The Romanian manager has seen a marked improvement in the recent performances of Dibba Al Fujairah, and will not allow their lowly League status to deceive his side into thinking it will be an easy encounter. “We must not forget Dibba Al Fujairah’s victory over Al Dhafra in Round 15 of the Etisalat Pro League. I require my players to fully respect the opposition we face and they will need to take the game very seriously in order to gain all three points.”

Olaroiu confirmed that Al Ain’s immediate focus is on the League match with Dibba Al Fujairah, and stated that he is not yet thinking ahead to the AFC Champions League tie with Al Hilal on 27th February; instead taking his preparations one game at a time. The coach did, however, note that he may consider rotating his squad to cope with the demands of the Etisalat Pro League and the AFC Champions League, with an important League match against nearest title challengers Al Jazira on 3rd March to take into account.

Dibba Al Fujairah’s head coach Dr. Abdullah Misfer has pressing concerns about team selection ahead of the Al Ain game, as he will be missing five key players from the squad as his bottom-of-the-table side travel to the League leaders. Ahmed Malalla, the Brazilian Alexssander Medeiros, Mohamed Mosabbah, Ahmed Murad and Adel Al Hammadi will all miss the trip to the Tahnon bin Mohamed Stadium, and although Misfer is disappointed not to be able to choose from his full complement of players, he has encouraged them to focus, do their best and not be overawed by the visit to Al Ain as they fight to try and escape relegation.