Al Nasr coach Ivan Jovanovic has called on his side to improve their consistency as the team look to make a push for an AFC Champions League spot.
The Blue Wave were regulars at Asia’s top table under former coach Walter Zenga after two top-three finishes in a row, but a disappointing sixth-placed finish last year brought down club expectations.
Now with a host of teams cluttered between second place and mid-table, the door is open for Al Nasr to sneak into the highlycoveted positions.
But results like Saturday’s 0-0 draw at home with relegation-threatened Emirates Club have held back the Blue Wave and coach Jovanovic is looking for consistency.
“We want consistency, not one bad result then one good result. Maybe this break coming up in the league can give us time to concentrate more on our form going into upcoming games,” said Jovanovic.
The Serb wants his players to look after their performances and let the results look after themselves.
For Al Nasr, the draw meant the team lost ground in the AFC Champions League race, a competition that will demand better performances.
“It is the way it is at the moment, but the way we played and the image and running from midfield, we can’t do anything more.
“You can see some tiredness, we found it hard to get some tempo. I believe that the players really wanted to win the last game but they could not give anything more.
“Of course this is not an excuse. It was important to win after Bani Yas won their game but we didn’t play on the field as we had hoped before the game.
“We had possession but only had one real chance, this isn’t pleasant or satisfying. During the game we tried changing things but we couldn’t do anything different and force ourselves on the Emirates.”
