Al Ahli coach Cosmin Olaroiu is convinced he has the knowledge to bring the best out of record-buy Moussa Sow after the forward did not yet deliver “what we expected”.
Sow, 29, was brought in this summer at an eye-watering cost of €17 million (Dh81m) from Fenerbahce.
A disrupted start caused by ineligibility for the club’s historic run to the 2015 AFC Champions League final has meant the Senegal international is yet to justify the huge outlay, scoring just twice in eight Arabian Gulf League appearances.
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But his Romanian boss is sure the development shown in fellow foreign signings such as Everton Ribeiro and Kwon Kyung-won has ensured he will soon be firing in the goals.
“For sure, it’s not the best Moussa Sow in this moment,” Olaroiu said. “But we have the experience with other players who came and in the beginning it wasn’t what we expected.
“And that’s why we have to give them time, to bring them into the best shape. Now, [Sow] finds more space to play and we hope he grows game by game. He has to get back his shape, his confidence and he has only one way to improve.”
The example of Kwon will be a boost to his team-mate. The 23-year-old has grown into a key player since his January move from Jeonbuk Hyundai, performing adeptly at centre-back or defensive midfield.
Olaroiu expressed his upset that the ex-South Korea Under-23 star is set to miss out on a packed part of the season after he was injured in the build-up to Nilmar’s goal during Saturday’s 3-1, top-flight victory against Al Nasr.
He said: “For me, he’s a big miss. He’s one of the best fighters in the team, the same as (injured UAE winger) Ismail (Al Hammadi).
“And the team needs fighters – they are very important for us. Now, we try to find a way to cover.”
The delays caused by the Red Knights’ continental exploits has meant they face eight matches in December.
Their latest assignment sees them battle for entry into the Arabian Gulf Cup semi-finals on Thursday, victory in their last Group A fixture at Al Dhafra a must.
“It’s very difficult because you don’t train, you only play,” bemoaned Olaroiu. “You only have one day to prepare for the game, as you have to recover.
“We are not very tired physically, but psychologically sure because every game we have to change the way we play.
“Every game you work on different set pieces, analyse the different opponents and the different way to play. It is a lot of information for the players and they have to keep the concentration.
“When you play for a long time with a lot of different games, it can affect the team. For example, in the game against Al Nasr, we ran more than them but we made mistakes which I could not believe.
“This is because we didn’t have the right reaction, we didn’t read the game in the right way. This is psychological.”
