New Al Jazira coach Eric Gerets believes the club’s leaky defence is the first thing he needs to address if they are to mount an Arabian Gulf League title challenge.
Gerets, 60, took over from Walter Zenga this summer following a trophy-laden spell with Qatar’s Lekhwiya.
The Pride of Abu Dhabi finished a distant third to champions Al Ahli last term, conceding the most strikes in the top half of the table with 35 in 26 games.
They have continued to ship goals in pre-season, losing 2-1 to Western Sydney Wanderers in their final friendly before kicking off their top-flight campaign at Ajman tomorrow.
“I agree, the number of goals we have let in is too much,” former Marseille, PSV Eindhoven and Morocco boss Gerets said.
“There is not a guarantee for anything in life. The only guarantee is you have to work hard to achieve things in life.
“We have to prove our organisation is better than it was last season, that our organisation is better than some of our friendly games.
“All these goals we took, maybe it is a good thing as we know we have to defend better, to stand better and be better organised.
“This is not only something for the midfield or our defenders. It is something for the whole team.”
He added: “We have had a long preparation. Everybody is very hungry to start because two months and two weeks is more than enough.
“We are looking very much forward to starting the competition, looking forward to doing better than we did last season – the target is to do better.”
Jazira have made some eye-catching summer buys, making up for the loss of Abdelaziz Barrada to Marseille by signing Juventus stri-ker Mirko Vucinic, Rennes winger Jonathan Pitroipa and River Plate youngster Manuel Lanzini.
Goalkeeper Ali Khaseif echoed his coach’s sentiments, striking a positive tone for the new season ahead.
The UAE international said: “We are here to be the best, and we hope to give our best in this season’s competitions.
“We want to have a better season than previous seasons.
“We are targeting all the competitions this year, but are focusing on the AGL for the time being. We are looking to a final result of having the league title.”
There will be a familiar face in the Ajman ranks tomorrow night, with playmaker Karim Ziani starring for Gerets while the pair were at French giants Marseille from 2007-09.
The 86-times capped former Belgium international issued a warning to his Jazira players about giving the inventive playmaker “too much freedom” at Ajman Stadium.
Gerets said: “He is a player we know very well. A technical player, who only loses one or two balls in a game.
“We know we have to take care of him and not give him too much freedom because then he will be dangerous.
“He can give the pass, he is dangerous.”
