Teenage prodigy Ahmed Khalil may be the hottest property of the UAE Football Association after the striker’s latest exploits in spearheading the country’s victorious Under-23 Gulf campaign. But for the new manager of his club Al Ahli, the talented 19-year-old is still an unknown quantity.
“He looks really attractive and interesting. Problem was when I arrived in Vienna (for training) after about three days I lost him (for the Gulf Cup). He’s only come back to me a couple of days ago. The first time I’ve seen him play was the other night (in a friendly tournament). I’ve never seen him play before, seen only clips. I would love to have him for longer,” said David O’Leary when asked about his impressions on the 2008 Young Asian Football of the Year.
This vividly illustrates the status of the former Aston Villa and Leeds manager who has been tasked with turning Al Ahli into a Premier League club during his three-year term. He admits stepping into the unknown but pleads for patience from fans of the club speaking to reporters with just a week to go for the start of the Etisalat Pro League championships.
“In the first round of games I would like to know what my players are like against the opposition. What I have to change, what I want to change,” he said acknowledging it was a learning curve for him.
His immediate focus is to ensure players are clear of injuries and fit for the season. “I’ve always thought training is a steady progression. It’s about playing the games. Results don’t matter to me in pre-season. It’s about fitness and about building up for that first game,” said O’Leary as Al Ahli led by World Cup winning Italian skipper Fabio Cannavaro get ready to face Al Dhafra in their opening match.
“I’m looking forward to learning about my players really. I don’t want to win games 6-nil and learn nothing from it,” said O’Leary who is unfazed by past achievements and failures of the Dubai club.
He hopes to regain the winning mentality of a club which has won the league title four times in four decades of existence. “That’s not a lot. Really the aim for me to do over three years is firstly set them up as another Premier league. Secondly, turn the club and point in the right direction after a shocking season and make it a club that has got a winning mentality,” said O’Leary who has no regrets taking over a club which finished eighth last season.
“Not many people know this league. This is a big learning process for me. They won the championship two years ago. I don’t buy into that. What happened last year is of more significance to me,” he said.
On Al Ahli’s latest acquisition Aristide Bance, the Burkina Faso striker, from the Bundesliga club Mainz, O’Leary said: “I had one pick. If he is a success I will take the credit, if he is a failure I will take the blame. I thought where he comes from Africa and the heat of what he is used to and growing up and the way of blending into the culture here, I thought the fit was right for me.”
“What did appeal to me was we are getting in a man that is very young, that maybe we can make him a better player. Who knows we can make a large profit out of him if he really comes very well,” he added of Bance who will be turning 26 next month.
He hopes Bance will form a potent partnership with young Khalil. “What I got to do now is get him into partnership with Aristide. That’s not going to happen over one game or one training session,” he said.
Asked about Khalil’s aim to become top goalscorer of the season, O’Leary replied: “I haven’t set them a target of goals. I expect them to do really well. What I got to see now is ‘have we got the ability to feed that pair upfront?’ I’m quite content now with the forward line,” he said.
On Cannavaro’s fitness, he said the defender has improved. “He has got fitter but he has got lot of work to do there. His record speaks for itself. At the end of the day his records mean nothing over here. It starts from day one and he got to prove himself to the people here,” said Arsenal’s record holder for the most number of appearances.
He had a simple philosophy when asked about playing formations. “I’ve always kept it on the floor. Always been a football person. I have got a philosophy of when you haven’t got the ball try and get it back quickly as possible, and when you get it back then express yourself and play,” said FA Cup and Premier League winner.
His focus would be on developing the bench strength of the club by training a reserve team and ruled out sending star players like Khalil on loan to foreign clubs.
“I think he can get it in the right environment here. I’ve been give this job to create a Premier League environment. To try and develop youngsters and may be getting them one day to integrate into the team. That’s what I like to develop,” said O’Leary who strongly believes that the nucleus and strong base in a team comes from the best of the locals despite the influx of foreign players.
Asked how he came to be chosen for the job and why he accepted it, O’Leary said: “It intrigued me what he (Club chairman Abdullah Al Naboodah) wanted done. He said ‘David sort this club out over three years for me and may be get other people copying us and doing things in a very basic way of how we do training.’ That’s what he wants, the league to improve. He not only does want to do well for his football team but also his input into the league as well.”
O’Leary has not been given targets to achieve or been influenced to pick any player. “Really what he wants in the next three years is really to win the league definitely. I feel that if I don’t, I have not done right here,” said O’Leary on the goals of the management.
He has taken on this challenge in earnest. “What worries me is I don’t know the league at the moment. It will take me the first season and particularly first round of matches to see where we stand. I cannot fault the attitude of the players and the way they’ve trained. I have no regrets of actually taking the job. Because I’ve enjoyed the culture of the people, I don’t want to let them down,” said O’Leary.
His message to the club faithful is not to expect miracles overnight. “Have patience. Hopefully you would see improvement which I think you will. What I definitely think you will see is the club being pointed in the right direction for success to come if people have patience,” he said.