TEHRAN (Mehr News Agency) – Persepolis striker Behnam Abolqassempour said on Saturday his side is apparently getting rid of its tough conditions and problem.

Abolqassempour told Mehr the club has recently held sessions on settlement of the problems and found practical solutions. He blamed the problems facing the technical committee for Persepolis’ failure to retain championship in the second Iran Pro League (IPL) and added, “Our team had scores of off-the-field problems that prevented us from winning the IPL title but the problems are solved in the near future and Persepolis will restore its position soon.”

Speaking about playing in the popular red-clad Persepolis as a regular, the striker said (manager) Ali Parvin seems to be satisfied with his performance, adding that but Parvin fields those who play well – no matter who they are.

“I am determined to train more and more and have a sound competition with other strikers for the national shirt,” he said.

On June 13, Abolqassempour scored the second goal in the 50th minute during his side’s clash against its archrival Esteqlal of Tehran in a packed 100,000-seater Azadi Stadium, 10km west of Tehran.

Persepolis won the blues 2-1. Defender Yahya Golmohammadi put the reds ahead in the 11th minute and right winger Alireza Akbarpour scored the consolation goal for Esteqlal in the 63rd minute.

Winning 44 points, the first IPL champion Persepolis finished third in the second league. Sepahan of Isfahan lifted the trophy with 52 points and the Tehran-based Pas stood second with 45 points.

The curtain was fell down on the second IPL on June 22.