Al Ahli midfielder Abdelaziz Haikal insists the club will make sure they conclude their season on a high as they seek victory against Al Dhafra today at the Rashid Stadium.

The Red Knights will be presen-ted with the Arabian Gulf League championship following the game which has been switched from the Western Region to Dubai.

Haikal, who is shortlisted for the Emirati Player of the Year Award, paid tribute to the Ahli coaching staff, particularly assistant manager Fabio Cannavaro, who he says has played a pivotal role in his development.

“We will enter our match with Dhafra looking for the perfect end to our season,” said Haikal, 23. 

“It’s been an exhausting season and we want to add to our fans’ celebrations by finishing with a positive result.

“I had been missing the feeling of winning a league title and now that I’ve achieved it, it really has given me a huge morale boost.

“I want to thank the coaching staff for all their efforts they’ve put in with me, which has led to me being nominated for Player of the Year. Fabio Cannavaro in particular has been a big help to me – along with assistant coach Catalin Raducan – who both improved my defensive skills throughout the season.”

Meanwhile, Raducan sees the Dhafra game as a perfect dress reh-earsal for Ahli’s upcoming President’s Cup final against Al Ain.

“We won’t rest any players because we all got the rest we needed and there’s also still time before the cup final,” said Raducan. “Breaking the record of points per season is not our goal, we want to win this match for the sake of winning and nothing else.”