DUBAI // Henk ten Cate has said he will give back his pay for this month after resigning as coach of Al Ahli on Wednesday night following a humiliating 5-0 thrashing by Al Sadd, the Qatari side, in the Asian Champions League (ACL).
The Dutchman, a former Ajax and Panathinaikos coach, was the champions' fifth manager since the end of the 2008/09 season, and only took charge on February 6.
"The club doesn't have to pay me anything because I will leave the handout for the 10 days that I have worked this month," he said.
"I will give it back to them because it is also very disappointing for the club also I am sure."
Ten Cate said a lack of professionalism among the squad had also contributed to the poor run of form. Ahli won just one of their six games under his guidance, a 2-1 victory over lowly Emirate.
He started his reign with a 5-1 loss at Al Ain and in two ACL games the side have conceded nine goals in their two defeats.
"I don't feel I am the right person to change the mentality in the team," he said.
"I tried my best since I started to create a more professional environment by training more, by training harder, by demanding professionalism from all players, but I had no response.
"If you lack quality, you must fight as team. Everybody must fight until the last minute, but we didn't.
"It has everything to do, I think, with the mentality of the team and I cannot change that."
But Ten Cate, who was Frank Rijkaard's assistant at Barcelona when they won the Spanish title and European Champions League in 2006, was also quick to accept his failings.
"I am deeply ashamed," he added. "I am ashamed for Al Ahli football club and I am ashamed for myself."
Despite the results, the Dutchman felt he could turn around Ahli's fortunes, until the game against Sadd.
"I was positive until this game, very positive," he said. "I know this team lack quality. This is not something new to me. As you all know there is a lot of football on television and I watch everything, every night.
"So I can see the quality in other teams is higher than in our team."
Ivan Hasek, who lead Ahli to the first Pro League title in 2008/09, left last summer to contest the presidency of the Czech Republic Football Association.
His replacement, Ioan Andone, was sacked in November.
Mahdi Ali, the UAE Under-20 coach, was put in charge to lead the team until after the Club World Cup, where they were embarrassingly beaten by the part-timers Auckland City.
Nouraldine al Obaidi took temporary charge of the team when Ali's deal ran out at the end of the year, until the club appointed Ten Cate, who left Panathinaikos in December 2009, last month.
"I wish Al Ahli and the people within this club all the best, because it is a very warm club and I felt very welcome," he said.
"The people I have worked with are fantastic people and they don't deserve this.
"The people who are very dedicated to this club, they deserve more from me and from the players."
Ahli are in seventh place in the Pro League, with just five wins from 15 games and are 19 points behind the leaders Al Wahda.
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
Sweet%20Tooth
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The schedule
December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club
December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq
December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm
December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition
December 13: Falcon beauty competition
December 14 and 20: Saluki races
December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm
December 16 - 19: Falconry competition
December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am
December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am
December 22: The best herd of 30 camels
Set-jetting on the Emerald Isle
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
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Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes.
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com
South Africa squad
Faf du Plessis (captain), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Theunis de Bruyn, AB de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Heinrich Klaasen (wicketkeeper), Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada.