TEHRANTIMES - Branko Ivankovic believes that Persepolis’s defenders’ and goalkeeper’s poor performances cost them the title as it finished in second place behind Esteghlal Khuzestan on goal difference.

“I would like to thank all of our fans who supported us from the very first until the end of the season. We didn’t win the title but we feel like champions because we shared the title with Esteghlal Khuzestan and lost it on goal difference,” Branko told reporters.

“A team who wants to win the league title must be strong in each post. We were the best team in offence as we scored 50 goals but we had a poor performance in defence. We conceded a lot of easy goals, for example the game against Gostaresh Foolad which we won 4-2; we conceded two goals while they didn’t have even one chance,” the Croatian coach added.

“I’ve signed a contract with the ultimate aim of winning the AFC Champions League. We will definitely improve our squad and bring new faces in order to improve the team’s performance. We will fight in three different tournaments next season so we need a large and strong group of players,” the 62-year-old coach added.

“I will promise our fans we will be stronger next season and will do whatever to make them happy,” he added.

Esteghlal Khuzestan and Persepolis finished the season with 57 points but Ahvaz based club win the title on a superior goal average.