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Mahmoud Fekri Likely to Help Ease Nassaji's Relegation Fears

Fekri

There is still plenty to play for at the bottom of the Persian Gulf League, with a number of teams still facing the prospect of a potential relegation to the Azadegan, and despite having collected 23 points from their opening 21 matches, Nassaji Mazandaran are one of those sides who are still nervously glancing over their shoulders. Reza Moahjeri's recent resignation came as a bit of a shock; however, his successor Mahmoud Fekri has a decent record of making his teams hard to beat, and that back-to-basics approach may be exactly what the club needs in order to avoid getting sucked into the bottom two.

As of March 9th, the Qa'em Shahr-based club sit seven points clear of the relegation zone, but with second-bottom Shahin Bushehr finding form and fourth-bottom Gol Gohar having picked up nine points from their last five matches, they are far from safe. With domestic football on hold until mid-March, Fekri will have ample time to work with his players, and prepare for a return to action later in the month. His side were comfortable 3-0 winners over Machine Sazi on February 27th, and although he'd barely had time to get his feet under the table by this stage, it was an extremely encouraging performance.

Although they face a couple of games against sides around them in the table, Nassaji have been handed a fairly tough run of fixtures and still have three of the top four to play. There is a small chance that both Persepolis and Esteghlal may be distracted by their AFC Champions League commitments, however they are likely to prove tough opposition for Fekri's men. The latter, who are one of his former employers, sit fourth and are desperate to bridge the gap over the next couple of months. Nassaji will have to keep tabs on striker Cheick Diabate throughout the 90 minutes, with the Malian striker having netted eight times since arriving in Iran. The former Bordeaux man has had a fairly nomadic career, and was linked with a move to the English Premier League back in 2018. Crystal Palace were just one of the sides linked with the 31-year old, and with the Eagles struggling for firepower this season, he could easily have become a fan favourite at Selhurst Park. The South Londoners are 9/4 in the soccer betting to finish in the top half this season, and although they have enjoyed a terrific 2020 so far, they remain the division's third-lowest goalscorers.

The new boss previously enjoyed a brief spell in charge of Aluminium Arak in which he oversaw six games. During that period, his side managed to avoid defeat and conceded just a single goal. His most recent employment was at Khooshe Talaee where he managed to guide them towards the promotion places. Although he wasn't in charge for the entire campaign, his former side conceded just 19 times in their first 26 outings and were extremely tough to beat. Shahin Bushehr also kept clean sheets in 50% of their league games when managed by Fekri.

Although he may be occasionally accused of favouring practicality over entertainment, particularly away from home, his sides are always extremely well-drilled, and that is likely to be the key to assuaging any lingering relegation fears.

Nassaji will be looking to make it a hat-trick of clean sheets when play resumes, and the former defender will be keen for his side to continue climbing the table. The new boss is only officially in charge under the end of the season, although he may opt to stick around if he can achieve his short term target of survival. He appears to be the perfect appointment for a club who simply need to avoid a sluggish end to the campaign and avoid being dragged into a relegation dogfight.