At Cleanthis Vikelidis, PAOK will be tested for the first matchday of the playoffs, with Rasvan Lucescu to emphasize in his statements that he wants to see self-confidence, passion and intensity from his players in the derby.
In addition, the Romanian coach highlighted the improvement shown by his team in the second round of the regular season of the championship, while he again insisted on the fact that they could have more points if they were not wronged by refereeing errors and VAR decisions.
What the PAOK coach said in detail:
On what he holds after the end of the regular season in the Stoiximan Super League: “It leaves us with a bitter taste that we could have had more points going into the mini-league to face the teams that are more or less on the same level as us. They were caused by some refereeing errors and VAR. Also, starting a season of changes and reconstruction, we knew very well that at the beginning we will not have the necessary performance that we would like. As time went on and the players got closer and closer with the connection on and off the pitch, we managed to turn that situation around by performing very well, especially in the second round against the best teams. We continued our good presence until the end of the regular season and we are moving forward”.
On the effectiveness of PAOK in derbies and whether this can be a guide for the playoffs: “It’s a bit difficult to answer that question as a coach. For all coaches it is important that the team is ready for the next game knowing how to play, having the organization and confidence, the necessary motivation. It’s normal having developed the team since the beginning of the season, the next game is important, the one against Aris, and that’s where we should focus our attention”.
On whether he feels these are the most competitive playoffs in recent years: “I don’t know exactly, maybe yes because three teams are leading with a certain number of points, we are also following. If we had been treated differently by VAR maybe we would have got the points we deserved in normal time and would have been much closer. In any case, having these types of games can evoke different emotions and bring a different motivation.”.
On what he expects to see in tomorrow’s derby with Aris: “What more can I want than to win? The playoffs bring together teams that are in the high positions of the standings. In itself this event brings quality footballers against each other, I want from my team to see confidence, passion and intensity”.
Source: Sport Fm
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