On his conclusions after the Tripolis encounter:

«It was important for me to realize –and I did, after the game- that in our third match in a week my players were able to react, dictate pace and keep their focus. It was very positive. Meanwhile, players who hadn’t played a lot so far demonstrated that we can count on them. We have a big roster, we have players who haven’t featured so far, but they will and I expect them all to give 100% for the team once given the chance«.

On managing his troops:

«We are monitoring their day-to-day work, we speak to them and they tell us how they feel, if they are tired. We are also focusing on the post-match trainings of those who don’t play much. We want them to keep the intensity and be ready. We have been working on that since the beginning of the season and we keep it up«.

On whether the victory in Tripolis means more than the three points earned:

«We got three points, that is what I see. I have repeated various times that we take it one game at a time. This match is over, we achieved the desired result and we continue«.

On Xanthi:

«We know our rivals, we recently faced them in a friendly as well. They haven’t started well, suffered two defeats, but that doesn’t mean something, as they always tend to give us a hard time. We are not expecting an easy game. To win any rival, we must give it 100% on the pitch and to be focused, as we were in previous games. I have told that to my players. We believe that we will be improving from game to game. We have several newcomers who are adjusting to Greek football, our rivals and the way they play against PAOK. I am not worried for my players’ level of readiness. I am sure they will be ready. If they are as focused and disciplined as I expect them to be, we will get a good result«.

On the upcoming European encounter playing a role in Sunday’s rotation:

«Right now we are only thinking about the league game. We are not worried about next Thursday’s European encounter. We deal with one match at a time. Now the rival to beat is Xanthi«.

On how he will go about victory on Sunday:

«PAOK should be disciplined and in determined to win and the players should bring on the pitch everything we are working on during the week. If they display the same attitude once more, I am confident that we will play well and get a result. Our rivals will put on a fight, as they have suffered two defeats so far«.

On PAOK starting their games very strongly:

«Our aim is to keep that pace for 90 minutes. That isn’t easy of course. We want to keep on improving and that is what I am expecting my players on the pitch«.