Concerned and at the same time optimistic, PAOK coach Razvan Lucescu attended a press conference before tomorrow’s game (Thursday, 3/10, 10pm) against Steaua Bucharest, in Toumba, for the 2nd round of the Europa League.
Consecutive defeats to Galatasaray and Aris have created a question mark, but the Romanian coach is optimistic that the ‘Duas Cabeças’ will recover quickly.
“It’s a game like any other. I haven’t changed my daily routine. I woke up at 5 am because I’ve been tormented by some thoughts in the last few days”commented Lucescu when asked about the specifics of the match against a team from his homeland.
“Nothing changes because the opponent will be a team from Romania. We will enter the field, as always, to win. We are at the beginning of the season. We have to find balance and become a team. We have a lot of new faces and we have to work on this process.”
What if the defeats to Galatasaray affected the mood? “The two defeats caused a turnaround. We are a team that doesn’t like to lose. We analyzed the defeat against Aris, we realized that all great teams will have periods like this. As long as we don’t insist on it”he replied.
Referring to players like Kenziora, Baba and Tyson, who have had a lot of playing time this season, unlike the youngsters who arrived this year, Lucescu responded:
“There are football players who can manage their strength. Soretire is the future of the team, but he comes from an academy team, basically his integration takes time. Gomez has landed in another environment for him and I want to see how he can react to the process and when he will be ready to replace a Baba Merit player.’
Finally commenting on Ivan Savvidis’ recent assessment that this year’s PAOK is the best team in the twelve years he has been in charge, Loucescu said:
“Mr. Savvidis did this for two reasons: firstly, to put pressure on me and secondly, to give motivation and confidence to the players on the team. It is not easy, nor right, to say that she is the best, when we are at the beginning of the season .”
