Esteghlal chairman unhappy with team's performances

AFC - Although disappointed with his team's exit from the AFC Champions League, Esteghlal chairman Fathol Lahzadeh said there is no crisis at the club and the team will now focus its efforts on winning a place in next year's edition of the continental championship.

Esteghlal opened their AFC Champions League Group C campaign with a 2-1 win over Qatar side Al Sadd. However, a 3-2 loss to Saudi Arabia club giants Al Hilal seriously dented the Iranian club's chances to progress, with United Arab Emirates champions Al Ain eventually topping the group after a 3-1 demolition job of Esteghlal in their last game.

Esteghlal are currently sitting in seventh place on the league table but have two games in hand over the rest of the field. They are 11 points adrift of league leaders Sepahan but can reduce that advantage to just five if they win their games in hand.

"Life will have to go on," said Fathol Lahzadeh adamantly. "We must put the results at the AFC Champions League behind us and start thinking about our future.

"We need to plan and rebuild the team's morale and while most of my attention had been on the AFC Champions League over the last week, I am now more concerned with how the team is going at the moment.

"I will see the tapes of the games played again and find out what had really gone wrong. We will try and work out a solution from then but the important thing is that we must not get too emotional."

Meanwhile, Esteghlal team manager Mansour Pourheidari said there is still a bit of work left for the club to do if they wish to challenge the likes of traditional West Asian powerhouses Al Hilal and Al Ain.

"Esteghlal did not do well because we allowed our opposition to attack," added Pourheidari. "The rest of the competition have bolstered their squads in many ways and we were not able to match up to their standards.

"If we continue as we are while others continue to improve, we will never be able to compete on level ground.

"The matches have gotten tougher in recent years and rather than explaining the problems that we might have, I think its time to take proper steps to improve the club."