Hervé Renard: We must focus to achieve the goal

French coach Hervé Renard indicated that focus is an important factor to win the title, stressing that they came to Qatar for this goal.

He said in the press conference preceding the Gulf 24 Cup final: “We are very happy to be in the final, and I think that we deserved to be present in this big final. This was our goal from the beginning – not only to participate, so we must be ready for it.”

He continued: “We played the Bahrain and Oman matches with the attack, and the game against Qatar was very different. We deal with each match with a special strategy and also depend on the deficiencies that it suffers from. We presented a heroic match against Qatar. We reached the final and we made the Saudi people happy.”

He added: “We have a distinguished team, including eight players who have achieved the AFC Champions League, and for this, Saudi Arabia remains a strong team in any tournament, and their presence in the final is the evidence for that.”

Regarding his relationship with the players: “I have no problem with any of the players. I am happy to deal with them and grateful to them for their spirit of perseverance. Salem’s change in front of Oman for a technical reason was normal. He is a big player and I am sure that he seeks to participate. Winning the final will be a gift to all players and fans of Saudi Arabia.”

On the impact of the victory over Bahrain in the group stage: “We know why we came to this championship. I always said earlier we are here to win it and not only participate. Even after losing to Kuwait, I told you that we still have our ambition. Bahrain is a strong team and showed a good level. We must focus and fight until the last minute to achieve this goal that will please all Saudi people.”