Statements ahead of tonight’s match between Panathinaikos and Lamia (10/11, 19:30) were made by Alexander Geremegev!
The Swedish striker spoke about his early days working with Rui Vitoria, his team’s need to build a winning streak, but also about the mentality the “greens” should have.
What the Panathinaikos striker said in detail:
On whether there is a prospect for back-to-back wins: “Certainly! It is very important to make a good start with the new coach. In Volos we may not have played the perfect game but we scored the first goal and everything became easier after that. We showed great will to win and we succeeded”.
For the first days of collaboration with Rui Vitoria: “I think he has a clear vision of what he wants to do. But it’s still early. We have had a few training sessions and as is normal it takes time for us to learn what he wants, but also for him to get to know the team. What is certain is that in the following games we only want victories”.
On how the upcoming disruption can help: “I think this break will help both the coach and the whole team to adapt to the new situation. We will work to be better when the league restarts. Of course, the coach can say what he wants in training, but many times it is easier to convey things to you through the process of the matches. Because that’s where what a coach asks becomes more specific. There are always ideas in training, but in the match you also have an opponent in front of you, who works differently. So you see in practice how what you do works. In any case, as time passes and through the matches, we will get better and get closer to what our coach wants”.
On what Panathinaikos must do to win against Lamia: “Always when you have to face the smaller teams and you are a big club, you have in front of you a team that has nothing to lose and is giving everything. Because for them it is something like the match of the year. They always give their best effort against the adults. We, for our part, know that we have the quality to win but we will have to put our best foot forward on the pitch to increase our chances of winning.”.
About “small” groups not getting shut down as much anymore: “Is this true! All teams try to play football. And I like it more. That makes the game much nicer, both to play and to watch.”.
On how he explains this change in philosophy: “I think it has to do with the mentality of the coaches who want to play more aggressively. Also, football is better when you play to win than to not lose by waiting back and trying to defend. In my opinion, that’s the cool thing about the sport. You always have to play to win, whether you are a small or a big team. Possibly, the “little ones” have believed more – watching the games of the big teams – that they can succeed against them. They try hard because maybe they see the possibility they have”.
On how the team should react: “I think it’s important to score first in the game. To put pressure on our opponents from the start and show them early in the match that “today you will not win points” and that “we are the big team and we will win”. You should not just say that you are the big team, but you should also show it on the pitch”.
On whether it helped the team’s psychology that the other contenders for the title have also gelled: “It was definitely good for us. We saw that we have our chance. That nothing was lost. We are still in the hunt for the title. It was very important for the team that started with a win under the new coach. We feel more optimistic and look forward to the next games. We want to stay on track to challenge for the title”.
For the future: “We are in a new process with a new coach and it definitely takes time. But I feel confident about the quality of the team, but also about the fighting spirit and great desire to win that all Panathinaikos players have. These figures make me optimistic about the future”.
On whether Panathinaikos can cope with the three events: “I have no doubt about it! Certainly the season is long, but our roster is also large and of high quality. There are good players in every position. However, in my opinion, it is easier and better to always look at the next game and not the long-term goal, whether that is the league, or the Cup, or Europe. There are many matches and many competitions, so it is better to focus exclusively on the game in front of you”.
On how it feels racing: “I feel good! In the last two games I played, with Chelsea and Aris, I felt good. Of course, as a striker I want to score, but I feel good about the way I played. Despite everything, you always want more and this gives you extra motivation. I want to score, so if I don’t I’m not satisfied. The truth is that against Aris I felt that we played and created chances, while in previous games we struggled to do so. And when you’re a striker, that’s annoying. I hope from now on, we create more. The game against Volos was a good start with the new coach as we made many classic chances. I think this was also our main problem in the previous period. We had no creation. We had a lot of possession, we controlled the game but in the last third of the pitch we had problems. I hope and believe that we will improve in this area”.
Source: Sport Fm
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