“Step by step”, was the motto given by Razvan Lucescu in view of his effort PAOK to reach the League Phase of the Champions League, before the first match against Banja Luka for the second qualifying round.
“I would be a hypocrite if I said that our minds are not there. It is a dream, but we have a qualifying round ahead of us, against a champion of her country and we will have to give our best. To qualify, secure Europe and then move on. In football there are teams that are used to winning titles in their country and thus have built a winning mentality. And there are teams that haven’t won many trophies and don’t have that mentality. The best example is Napoli, a good team, with potential, but after the championship they won last year they finished tenth. It’s hard to manage your mind and stay focused on the next goal. When you think far away, you lose focus on the goal in front of you. That’s why we only have to think about this game. People have a right to dream, that’s life, you live better when you have dreams“, noted the Romanian technician.
“When you hear a name and it doesn’t tell you something, it has nothing to do with reality. You must be serious and humble. In football you have to have a strong mentality, fight for victory, believe in it and not consider that your presence on the field is enough to win. We are facing a team that won the title in their league. Few know what it takes to win a trophy, so be careful. Banja Luka showed in the previous round that it knows how to take advantage of the circumstances, without necessarily dominating. That’s why it needs attention. Football is not just about who plays the best football, there are other aspects too“, he added.
As for whether he is afraid of his players being affected by transferology, he said:I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t know anything about transfers, I don’t know what the players know. Everyone is committed, we have very mature players who know that whatever is done by the club is in the interest of all of us. Our goal is to become stronger than last year, we have goals and if we are serious and humble we can fight again for our happiness».
Asked if he is afraid of the pressure of his team and if this is a trap, he answered: “Why not look at it positively? Not negative, not like a trap! Let’s think about it after the matches with Banja Luka. Let’s pass, lock Europe and then we discuss it again».
Regarding his racing plans and whether some players have been left behind, he underlined:Whenever I want to relax, I see your latest description in the Mars game. I have shared it with a lot of people in Romania, so they can see how people live football here. The success of last season was the management of the team and the use of the players who were in the best condition. That’s my thought now too. There are players who have been here throughout the pre-season, others who have not had a full pre-season. You are always rewarded for your work and not for… luck».
Regarding the work done in the preparation, he pointed out:I can say that we prepared very well, there was concentration from everyone, with energy, mood and aggression. I think we did a very good job in Holland and to learn to manage ourselves after a very good season we had».
Source: Sport Fm
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