«Everything depends on us»
Dimitris Pelkas spoke to Novasports TV on the occasion of the play-offs’ start and the match against AEK Athens in Toumba Stadium. Read what the young midfielder had to say on the encounter, the play-offs and the situation in Greek football.
On how he is experiencing the situation in Greek football:
«Of course we don’t like what is happening. We see how ‘healthy’ foreign leagues are and we are disappointed, because we want football in Greece to improve. We compete in this league and it would be much better if all these problems didn’t exist. But we are trying to remain focused and leave the handling of these problems to others. We must continue training and be ready for whatever is asked of us«.
On PAOK’s main concern ahead of the play-offs:
«It’s been a month since our last match, quite a while –but that’s a problem that all participating teams fae. We need to get into competitive rhythm again and start the play-offs with a victory«.
On whether we will see something different from PAOK:
«We had the time to work on our weaknesses and our new coach helped us solve some problems. We are all healthy and ready to play –we didn’t have that luxury during the season. Matches are very close to each other, but we have solutions in our roster«.
On what will make the difference in the play-offs:
«The first three matches are really important. We must win them all, or at least not lose. The team to manage that will get the psychological advantage«.
On the absence of fans:
«We need to handle it and play strong in two behind-the-scenes encounters. Hopefully we will have the support of our fans in the last match«.
On the encounter against AEK Athens:
«I don’t believe that their recent coach change will affect their style of play. It’s very recent and have played under Stelios Manolas only in two encounters. We expect AEK Athens to be like they were all season. They are focused and disciplined, but I believe that everything depends on us. If we are good, serious and well prepared, we won’t have any problem. As witnessed in the first round, we can defeat them. We have proved this season that we can take on any opponent if we are good«.
On the players feeling the need to conclude the season as best as possible:
«Responsibility is part of football and everyone must assume their part. We must conclude the season by securing our presence in the upcoming UEFA Champions League qualifiers, this is our main objective. We must take each match separately, starting with the one against AEK Athens, get the results we want and seal the season on a positive note«.
