Head coach Alberto Zaccheroni was happy that the UAE opened their Gulf Cup campaign on a winning note but insists there’s still a lot of work to do if they want to go all the way in the competition.

Ali Mabkhout’s first-half penalty was the only goal of the match as the Whites defeated Oman 1-0 at Kuwait’s Jaber International Stadium on Friday night.

It was Zaccheroni’s fourth match in charge since taking over in October after the 1-0 defeat to Haiti on his debut and a reverse scoreline against Uzbekistan. And while the former AC Milan, Juventus and Japan boss was satisfied with what he saw, he admits there are still areas he needs to work on ahead of the match against Saudi Arabia on Monday.

“Omani performed very well in the first 15 minutes of the match,” he said of the game in which Omar Abdulrahman was awarded man of the match.

“But we improved after that and after we scored the first goal, there was two more chances to score goals.  “In the second half, we had a good start but then Oman improved and although they did their best to try and get the equaliser, we held on to win the game.

“It was very important to win the first match and there were positive signs to take from the match but my coaching team will have to work on correcting the mistakes.”

Having been in the hot seat for less than two months, the 64-yearold acknowledges it will take time for his players to adapt but reiterated the on-going tournament forms an important part of the team’s preparations for the 2019 Asian Cup in the UAE.

Omar Abdulrahman was named man of the match against Oman.

“The first match of the championship is always quiet hard and it’s about planning for the players to understand step by step and understanding the coaches tactics,” he said after the match.

“This Gulf Cup is very important for us ahead of the Asian Cup. The most important thing is that the players continue preparing in all matches and training with an eye on the Asian Cup, which is our goal.”

The UAE’s next task is against Saudi Arabia, who despite fielding a second-string team, overcame hosts Kuwait 2-1 earlier on Friday evening.

Al Ain defender Mohaned Salem played the full 90 minutes in the opening victory and says picking up maximum points will give them a lot of confidence going into the Saudi clash.

Despite their rivals not being at their full strength, the 32-year-old is adamant his side will not take them lightly.

“Frankly, we have had a very good performance and proved to the coach that we are up to it,” he said ahead of the clash at Jaber International Stadium.

“The Saudi team is very strong and big but we will focus on our team’s performance and the ability to win some points will motivate us for the next match.”