Quique Sanchez Flores will be removed from his position at Al Ain regardless of the outcome of Wednesday’s AFC Champions League clash with Lekhwiya.
The Spaniard has been under pressure all season after taking over from Jorge Fossati in late September and it seems even a victory in the club’s first Champions League game of the season won’t save him, with one club insider saying: “Even a 10-0 win wouldn’t help.”
Former Al Hilal coach Zlatko Dalic is the hot favourite to replace Quique with the Croatian coach already in the UAE and having attended Al Ain’s reserve game with Al Nasr last Saturday.
Al Shabab coach Marcos Paqueta could also be in the frame, although it is believed he would only move with the blessing of his current club.
Quique wouldn’t comment on his position before tonight’s game but the word from inside the Spaniard’s camp is that he is already looking at options for life after Al Ain.
After a season marked by unrest, this latest bout of uncertainty can’t have helped the Boss’ preparations for their continental campaign.
Last season saw the defending UAE champions unceremoniously dumped out at the group stage, with just two wins from six games.
The club had harboured high hopes for this season but the upheaval since former coach Cosmin Olaroiu left in the summer has seen them struggle for confidence.
Qatari side Lekhwiya lie in wait tonight in the Garden City after they qualified, thanks to a play-off win over Al Kuwait. And despite Quique’s fate seemingly already sealed, the former Valencia, Benfica and Atletico Madrid boss was focused on the task ahead at yesterday’s media briefing.
“We will be putting everything into our match with Lekhwiya,” said the 49-year-old. “They will be defensive and it will be a difficult test. We are facing a new challenge in this tournament and we’ll be starting from scratch.
“We have been working hard and we’ll hopefully see the value of that work [against Lekhwiya].
“The players are mentally tough and they can overcome everything that has happened in the past. We have a lot of motivation to put in a strong showing.”
Quique is likely to return to Spain after being unable to replicate the success he previously enjoyed at Al Ahli, with the runaway leaders benefitting this season from his previous good work.
And while the Spaniard has been unable to drag Al Ain back into the title race, he has lost just four times in 16 league matches while also leading the team to the final of the President’s Cup.
Quique endured a rocky start initially in his time at Al Ahli before finishing his first season in charge with the Etisalat Cup.
In private, Quique has said that his first season with Al Ain has been “exactly the same” as his first with Al Ahli, with the former Valencia manager confident in his ability to produce the goods should time allow.