The head coach of Botev (Plovdiv) Dusan Kerkez is of the opinion that his team must play "smart" in the return match against the Greek Panathinaikos from the second qualifying round of the Europa League tournament, BTA reported.
The coach gave a press conference before the match between the two teams, which is on Thursday at 21:00 at the "Hristo Botev" stadium. Forward Anthony Udja was also present at the briefing. "The Shamrocks" have a 2:1 lead after the first match at the Olympic Stadium in Athens.
"We are not afraid of Panathinaikos. We know they have a lot of quality players who have the individual class to change a game with one play. Therefore, we must be very concentrated and not give them space and opportunities. Sometimes you can prepare everything, but it is not enough. We have to play the game smart. It is not said that we have to score in the first minute. The match lasts 90 minutes," said Kerkez.
"We didn't have time to think about the derby. We already have a much more important game ahead of us. After the match with Lokomotiv, I was emotional, but these players are my family and I will always protect them at the cost of everything," Botev's coach also explained.
"I still believe that Panathinaikos is the favourite, but we also showed that we have a chance. To take this team out, everyone has to be at the highest level and even give something extra. We are ready to play 120 minutes if we have to. We have to be focused because we are facing a very good team. As I said after the first game - we respect them, but on the field we will offer them a real war. This is normal because we want to win and move on. All of Bulgaria is talking about Botev and we hope that this will continue to be the case", concluded Dushan Kerkez.
Central striker Anthony Udja called for calm in the team ahead of the second leg.
"The most important thing is to stay calm and be mentally prepared. There's no need to rush. We have to pick up where we left off in the second half in the first game in Greece. "We know they can hurt us at any moment," Ujja said.
"The club accepted me better than I expected. I didn't need much time to adapt. We have a good understanding with the other players and it was easy for me to integrate into the team. I'm happy for now, but I want more. I want to help the team even more", added the new addition to the "yellow and black".
The newest addition to Panathinaikos Tete arrived with the team in Plovdiv for the return match, FOCUS reported.
Tete was signed just a week ago by Turkish side Galatasaray and is very likely to make his debut for Panathinaikos against Botev.
The coach of the team from Athens, Diego Alonso, brought a group of 23 players to Plovdiv. As expected, the big star of the team, Fotis Ioannidis, was left out of the group.
Defender Bart Schenkefeld and midfielder Tony Villena dropped out of the extended squad due to stomach problems.
Diego Alonso's official press conference is today at 18:15, and 45 minutes later "the clovers" will also hold their practice at the "Hristo Botev" stadium.