Keane: “I won’t let anyone in the team believe that qualification is over”

Robbie Keane emphasized that he has the experience for so many years as a player and coach to understand that the 4-1 win over Olympiakos does not ensure the qualification for the Israelis in the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League, since he considers a quality team and a strong opponent of the “red and whites”, he stood in the pressure they received in the second half, in the faith his players showed, he deified the steam hammer in Faliro and made it clear that for him there are no starters or substitutes.

Analytically:

His presence as a player and whether after 1-4 the qualification is over: “Thank you for your comment. Absolutely not. Something is not finished. I have been in football for many years. I will not let my players believe how it ended. I’m not naive. My players are not naive either. We are facing a very strong opponent. We have a match before the rematch and then we’ll see.”

The image of the match and if he expected it: “Before the match, 99% of people would say about Olympiakos. I told the kids it’s 11 against 11. If you believe and have a plan, you can succeed. We were under a lot of pressure in the second half. The opponent is a very quality team. Nothing is over yet.”

The two goals in such a short space of time: “Of course I’m proud. We had the desire and faith to succeed. The children had the will. I wish I could play again to play in such an atmosphere. I wish I was a player. The people of Olympiakos did not stop singing even when their team was losing. I really liked the atmosphere. His players enjoyed it. They played well. We have discipline. They had discipline and that’s the key.”

That he may have found the ideal XI and his players: “No. That would be disrespectful to other children. The guys who played were awesome. But, no one should be… comfortable because there is always someone to take your place. It’s not the first time I’ve seen such a good execution of a shot. What I told my players was to be brave and be consistent on the pitch.”