Al Ain manager Quique Sanchez Flores has called on his players to turn their cup success into league results as his side travel to lowly Dubai Club on Thursday evening. 

The Boss are currently in unfamiliar territory as they reside in the bottom half of the table thanks to an uneven and unstable season so far.

Defending their league title appears to be a more difficult task with every passing week as rivals Al Ahli continue to win relentlessly while Al Ain scratch around for valuable points.

While league form has been a problem, the Garden City club have had no such trouble in the President’s Cup where they have successfully moved through to the final following a win over Al Nasr. 

With three draws from their last three, Al Ain need a win and Quique has told his players to tap into their inner Cup feeling.

“It is important to achieve good results in the league and we should prepare the players well to get their physical fitness up especially after the tough match of the President’s Cup semi-final which demanded huge efforts from the players,” said the Spaniard.

“The points we have lost over the last three matches in the league haven’t affected the players and they are showing desire to earn good results by committing in the training sessions.

“Now we have qualified to the final of the President’s Cup and we should improve our positive in league to get close to the leading place.

“We need to show the best performance we can and what is expected of Al Ain’s name and reputation.”

Quique may still have his eyes on the teams at the top of the table, but it will not have escaped his notice that his team are closer to the bottom of the table than they are to the top.

Even today’s lowly opponents Dubai, who have just nine points from 16 games, are nearer Al Ain in terms of league position than the Boss are to Al Ahli.

The Spaniard has been keen to remind his players that they are in different company at the moment, regardless of the team’s pedigree, pay roll or status.

“The match won’t be easy,” added Quique. “We know well that any team who plays against Al Ain shows their best on the field.”