THE PAOK is looking for his first win of the year in the league phase of the Europa League, with the RFS to host him in Riga tomorrow.
At the press conference before the match, Razvan Lucescu he reflected on the restart his team has to make abroad, the problems they have faced so far and the poor harvest of one point.
What he said in detail:
“First of all, we have an opponent that has shown very good work and very good organization, a team that drew with Galatasaray and Anderlecht and lost 1-0 in Frankfurt, proof that it is a very strong opponent.
On the other hand, as we discussed during this period, we have a restart to do, we did it in the league, now it has to be done in Europe as well. Not only because of the score but also because our ego is hurt, we haven’t got the results we deserved.
We played well but we should have got more points. Unfortunately due to mistakes or some moments, or the absence of a clear mind, we only have one point. The most important thing for us is a restart, it happened in Greece, now it must also happen in Europe against a team that works hard.
I don’t know if it’s a good thing or not (including the fact that the match is away), it might be a coincidence that we haven’t played well in Toumba. It can be a normal situation for a team that has suffered a lot and made two changes to date, we had a period where we were not good, but we had moments when we played well.
It is our responsibility to bring the new players into the fold and make them a group together with the old ones. What we have to do is to have the will to fight, to run, to defend, to press, to attack. All this as a team, as a whole.
We showed that in Tripoli but now we have to show it in the match against RFS. Let’s continue Sunday’s appearance. We also have to react to the game in Europe, a very important element that we had on Sunday and that we didn’t have with OFI and Olympiakos, is that we showed a willingness to run even when we don’t have the ball. To maintain this mood, to play without the ball is the key for this match and to get the victory.
Our opponent deserves to be here and how disciplined he is in his game. The games against Galatasaray and United are different. I have to tell you that we are disappointed that we have not managed to get more points. You know very well that it is up to us to react, to fight and to win.
With a win we can change things until the end of this particular phase of the Europa League. There is also a positive. We are talking as if we are 10 points away from the position, while we are -1 from the first place in Greece and that makes us angry. We have to learn to manage the pressure, we have a lot of games and we have to stay balanced and when something goes wrong create a shock.
This is football, the important thing is that those who are here give 100%, we have never stood in losses. Today some are out, the day after tomorrow they may return, so we move on. That is why I mention that in one season we must know how to manage everything, every situation.
Every game is different, it has its own characteristics and we must try to get the maximum. Everyone’s turn will come and the team must be at a good level. If there is negativity things will not work well. The opportunity for all will come and they must be ready. That was a problem we had, to manage to bring them all together and I have spoken many times about the unity of the group”.
Source: Sport Fm
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