«Proof of character and heart»
Igor Tudor declared himself satisfied with the result and his players’ effort against Atromitos. Here is what the Croatian coach of PAOK said during his post-match press conference.
On the time needed by the team to turn the tie around:
«It would have been a different game, had we managed to score in the first half. It often happens in football for the rival to need just one opportunity to get ahead in the game. We succeeded in making a comeback and my players ought to be congratulated for their effort«.
On the comeback:
«The right mentality means that one plays each match to win it. As long as we keep on winning, that helps us. Football is a weird game. We proved we have strong character and heart to turn such a match around«.
On the fact that his team wasted several opportunities:
«I am not preoccupied. Hopefully all games will be like that, with my team carving up chances – even if we don’t score easily. Play became more open in the second half, we were left with 3 players at the back. But football handed us after the interval what we were denied in the first when we dominated by failed to score«.
On the upcoming games against Borussia Dortmund and Olympiacos:
«We need to put the Atromitos game behind us, relax and prepare for these two very important games«.
On fatigue:
«There is fatigue, but when in competition good results provide a psychological rest. There is time between games, we have young players and I am confident they will pull through«.
On Berbatov:
«I never reveal my starting eleven, but I will make an exception this time round. He will start on Thursday«.
On his heated moment with Kontoes:
«I don’t like what I see in the league. Rivals often don’t get on the pitch to play, but to waste time. The incident is over and has no importance«.
