«Our worst game»
Vladan Ivić was visibly downbeat due to his side’s performance in their encounter against AEP Iraklis in Kaftanzoglio. Read on paokfc.gr everything he said in his post-match press conference:
On Iraklis’s goal:
«We could only concede from a dead-ball situation. We knew how Iraklis play and my players were told to mind set-pieces. Our display today was poor in both halves. We weren’t ourselves on the pitch, that was obvious from minute one«.
On his players’ responsibility:
«We knew the situation before-hand and we explained to our players that, for 20 years now, PAOK have been unable to win in this ground, that it’s a city derby, that Iraklis may sit low in the standings but have improved lately. We were expecting a tough game, but didn’t react. We played considerably below our potential. In my opinion, it was our worst game this season«.
On Biseswar’s substitution:
«I made the substitution, after judging that he wasn’t in the mood. We must know where we stand and what we do, starting with me. When I see some things on the pitch after 20 minutes, I feel I have to change something«.
On his team’s attitude:
«We know that Iraklis are passionate. They are low in the standings and the quality gap between the two sides is huge. However, this game proves that, when we don’t give our 100%, we won’t be able to defeat the U20s. I am ashamed of our display today, of how we played for 90 minutes. But I am taking responsibility, because I am working with these players, meaning that I definitely did something wrong«.
On the reasons that led to the draw:
«We have dropped many points after European encounters, for example in the games against Veria and Panionios. These are the trickiest games, after playing in full focus in Europe. If we don’t maintain our 100% concentration, we get punished in the league. We took a point today, but it feels like a defeat to me. Actually we could have lost in the end«.
On preparations for this encounter:
«We talked a lot, since such games are very tricky, especially against sides struggling to avoid relegation. We tagged it as a very important encounter, we tried to explain it to the players, to prepare them, to have creativity in the match. But nothing went as planned«.
On how this result will affect the team ahead of upcoming games:
«I don’t believe that fans will keep away from Toumba Stadium because of it. It could affect them, for sure. We need to talk and see what is wrong and remedy it«.
