Boss Abel Braga has insisted he is not feeling the pressure despite an indifferent start to life back at Al Jazira.
The Brazilian is a hero at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, bowing out after being the last man to deliver the Arabian Gulf League-title to the club and indeed Abu Dhabi. That 2011 triumph seems very far away now, particularly given the stuttering start to his second tenure.
The Pride of Abu Dhabi have won two and lost two of their first four league games in 2015-16. Despite Jazira’s early season woes, Braga says he is not feeling the heat.
“As a person, I am not feeling under pressure. It is part of football,” the 63-year-old said at a pre-match press conference on Wednesday.
“Pressure. It’s not an easy thing, but we have to forget the past and work hard and use it as a motivation for the coming period.
“I am using the pressure as motivation to win and get points for the team and make the fans happy.”
This recent sequence for Jazira includes the dismal 4-2 defeat to newly-promoted Dibba Al Fujairah last time out. Their last home game also saw defender Yaser Matar spare their blushes with an injury-time winner to claim a 3-2 victory in the Abu Dhabi-derby against Al Wahda, a game in which they led 2-0 before capitulating to concede twice inside the final 15 minutes.
Braga’s side welcome Al Shabab to the capital on Friday, who are bossed by ex-Jazira coach Caio Junior. The Brazilian’s men finished two points behind Jazira in third place last season and are currently fourth with eight points after an unbeaten start to the campaign.
“It’s an important match for us. We are trying to work harder and we have to get back the confidence for the players, fans, everyone associated with the team,” added Braga.
“We want to make our fans happy and we are not happy about the recent performances and I think this is a new page for us to start against Al Shabab.
"As a person, I am not feeling under pressure" – Braga
“We have conceded too many goals and we are working on it. Unfortunately we have not been able to recover from conceding these goals but we will again have to work harder.”
Following the international break, Braga will be hoping the likes of Montenegro star Mirko Vucinic will be firing.
The 32-year-old scored in his country’s 3-2 defeat to Austria a week ago but was later sent off.
Jefferson Farfan, meanwhile, only returned to the UAE on Wednesday morning following his exploits for Peru in South American World Cup qualifying.
Farfan, 30, scored a brace in a 4-3 defeat to Copa America champions Chile.
Defender Salem Ali could feature for Jazira on Friday after more than a year out injured.
Having been sidelined since August last year and considering his side’s poor start to the season, the 22-year-old Emirati defender could be forgiven for being nervous, but he has no fears ahead of the Shabab visit.
“It’s an important match, a home game for us and we want three points,” he said.
“We don’t want to look back. Yes we have lost against Dibba but we have to look forward to a new challenge now.
“Of course the international players add value and we need
experienced players like Ali Mabkhout and Mirko (Vucinic), but at Al Jazira we have one mentality. Whoever is here will play and do his best.
“We don’t feel any pressure as a group of players and we are excited about this match.”
