Late arrival to RSL, Gustafsson hoping Al Fateh find form fast

Al Fateh’s start to the Roshn Saudi League season was always going to be somewhat unsettling after they parted ways with manager Slaven Bilic one week before their 2024-25 opener.

While they wasted little time in appointing his replacement - 45-year-old Swede Jens Gustafsson - the fact his appointment was made 24 hours before their curtain-raising clash with Al Qadsiah meant neither the coach nor club had enough of a period to get to know each other properly. 

And so it has transpired, with Gustafsson, coaching in the Kingdom for the first time, going straight into the white-hot action of the RSL. The unique nature of Al Fateh's preparations has played out in the opening five rounds of the campaign, with the club from Al Ahsa rooted to the bottom of the table with one win thus far.

Their latest loss - a 4-2 defeat in Matchweek 5 at home at the hands of Al Okhdood - was a particularly frustrating one for Gustafsson since his team had taken a 2-0 lead inside the opening 20 minutes. Afterwards, he declared his side had played what can be described as less-than-intelligent football to let slip the three points.

“It’s a big disappointment,” the forthright Swede. “This game was ours. We got the start we have been searching for and we played quite well, first half. And then we played very, very bad in the second half and we took stupid decisions on the pitch.

“The reason for this can be a lot; it can be quality-wise, it can be fitness-wise, it can be a lot. In the end we lost the game and it’s a massive disappointment. We have a lot of work in front of us, massive work to turn this around. We will keep on working, staying loyal to what we are working on and make sure we invest every week to get better.”

Three points from five matches represents Al Fateh’s worst start to a season since 2019-20, when they survived relegation by a single point after an inspired run of four wins and two draws in their final eight games upon the resumption of the league after its COVID-enforced shutdown.

Compounding Al Fateh’s current woes was last week’s 2-0 defeat to second-tier side Al Jabalain in the King's Cup Round of 32.

The good news for Gustafsson - a commodity that, admittedly, has been in short supply this season - is that the campaign is only five games old and there is still plenty of time to turn things around. After all, after Matchweek 5 concluded on Sunday, only one point (and a bit of goal difference) separates Al Fateh in 18th and Al Raed in 11th.

Al Ahli, against whom Al Fateh recorded that one victory this term, are three points further ahead in seventh. So, a win or two can really help change the narrative of their season.

Gustafsson will be hoping that starts this weekend, with the trip east to Buraidah to take on Al Taawoun, who are likewise finding their feet under a new manager, Rodolfo Arruabarrena - even if the former UAE manager has begun with an impressive four wins from seven matches in all competitions.

“We have a huge amount of work in front of us,” Gustafsson said. “We need to get players back from injuries, we need to improve our fitness level and, of course, we need to get the team playing a style that makes us win games.

“So, there is a lot for us in this moment. We need to improve the players’ quality - this we will do on the training pitch. We have a lot of work in front of us and we are willing to do it.”

The players Gustafsson will anticipate more from include Armenian midfielder Lucas Zelarayan and former Moroccan international, Mourad Batna. Zelarayan was a revelation last season, arriving from Columbus Crew in the USA and contributing directly to 17 goals: eight of his own, as well as nine assists.

That latter statistic put him in the upper echelon of players in the RSL last term, one behind Allan Saint-Maximin and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. Al Ahli's Riyad Mahrez led the way, with 13.

Batna, who is in his fifth season at Al Fateh, has been one of the club’s best performers over the past few campaigns, recording 29 goals and 24 assists from midfield since the 2020-21 RSL. That includes eight of each last season as Al Fateh finished a superb seventh in the table.

Between Batna and Zelarayan this season, however, they have combined for no goals and only the two assists - both to the latter – which is some way below their usual and expected output, even if there have been mitigating circumstances. Batna is one of those Gustafsson will certainly want to return to the starting line-up with immediate effect; the stalwart missed both the opening game against Al Qadsiah and Saturday's defeat to Al Okhdood.

On the flip side, the form of striker Djaniny will give Gustafsson plenty of cause for optimism. In a club's otherwise poor start to the season, the Cape Verde international has found the back of the net three times, scoring all but one of Al Fateh's goals thus far. As such, he is on track to better his return of eight goals last season.

If Gustafsson, himself still becoming accustomed to the RSL, can get the support cast in Zelarayan and Batna to rekindle the form they have previously displayed, then there is more than enough time for Al Fateh to turn around their fortunes.

Beginning to find that this weekend, away to a tricky Al Taawoun, would go some way to truly kick-starting Al Fateh’s 2024-25 campaign.