Konstantinidis: “Let’s be fully prepared mentally and physically against AEK”

Tonight (19:30), o PAOK hosts AEK in Toumba in a pivotal game in terms of the development of the championship and the Stoiximan Super League title battle.

Razvan Lucescu’s partner, Pantelis Konstantinidisspoke to the NOVA camera ahead of tonight’s “doubleheader derby,” about the recent mediocre image of the “doubleheader,” but also about the team’s goals for the rest of the season.

The statements of Pantelis Konstantinidis in detail:



For team status: “I think the team has prepared very well for the game against AEK. It is a game like all the previous ones, as well as the next ones, that come in the current season. Critical. Very important. As we have mentioned other times, the goal is always to win all the games and get the three points. This is what we want to pursue with AEK, to be focused, ready, mentally and physically to win the game”.

On what led to PAOK’s last bad performances: “In a very good season, no team can be permanently in top condition. Where could this be due to? The number of consecutive matches a team can have. In the pressure that is permanently present on the children because they are in a big team that has to win. This creates a real pressure. It might be because you can’t train. There is no time for training because of the back-to-back games, so you can’t train as you want and prepare the team. It is these factors that I think lead to seeing that no team in the world can be throughout the year in form

Of course, all this does not mean that the team has a competitive problem. We should start catastrophizing. To reflect and say that something terrible has happened. Nothing strange and terrible has happened. With AEK, I believe that the team will show up ready, show a different competitive face and do everything to win.”

Regarding the fact that PAOK presents the same face, in the same period as last year: “These are circumstantial. And during the course of the season there are periods when teams do not play good football or how they are used to playing. The point is to find a way to win the matches. I hope you can achieve that the team is in top form, but that can’t happen permanently. It’s about finding a way to win.”

As for whether he is concerned that PAOK is not scoring: “Not particularly, he will score. He will score with AEK”.



For the group dinner: “It was a good opportunity to go eat. Nothing special. We have made tables other times, the children in particular have gone out several times. It’s not something important to discuss further.”

On how he feels until the end of the season:

“We have to win all the matches. Nothing has changed. Since the beginning of the year we have been going from game to game. This is how we will continue now for the four we have left. We have the game against AEK, the three games follow after the break and as I said, the team should win.”

On whether it affects the previous game:

“When you see the games one by one, you have to put such reactions aside. There are definitely thoughts and you have to act in a way to overcome such issues. If you are focused on the game you will not think about what has happened in the past or what will happen in the next. The most important thing is the game in front of you and that’s what you should aim for. At the end of the day, there’s no point in thinking about the previous or the next games.”



On what he wants to see in the game with AEK:

“What we definitely want to see is the team’s competitive spirit to be at higher levels. Certainly the rest are also important, but for me the first and most important and what we have to do is to be competitive and in terms of psychology and how we will enter the field, fully prepared”.

For different elements in groups: “Teams cannot change at this point in the season. Neither AEK nor we can do many different things. It will be a strong game, it will be won by whoever wants it the most and whoever takes advantage of the opportunities that will be given to them.”