On the holidays:

«This break came at the right time. I could spend time with my grandson and my family. But now we are focusing only on the game against Levadiakos«.

On potential traps as the team returns to action:

«My players are professionals and they know what to do. Judging from the trainings, I believe we are ready«.

On the encounter against Levadiakos and everything that happened in the first round of fixtures:

«There are no similarities with the first match. Many months have passed since then. It’s a different encounter entirely. We also faced each other for the Greek Cup. Circumstances now are different. We know them well. They have a fine defensive mentality, they try to be compact and pressure a lot. We need to be very focused«.

On topping the list of steals:

«It’s a very important aspect. Teams aiming to dominate their encounters need to have the ball at their feet. To achieve that, they must pressure relentlessly and recuperate possession as soon as possible. Manchester City are the talk of the football world lately. Their main characteristic is being disciplined, compact and stealing the ball non-stop. It’s not only about having possession. Our players may defend well, but that is not about talent. It’s about tactics, discipline and proper mentality«.

On signings and recent scenarios:

«In my capacity as coach, I presented an analysis for the first six months of the season. Our main concern is to acquire a left full-back, so that Vieirinha can play in his preferred position, he can be more useful there. He is a big asset for us and can feature in various positions. Another solution for left-back is Crespo, but he is also more needed at the centre of defence. We have very good players and a strong squad. I don’t want to get into rumours. We will try to keep our team’s balance. I won’t make any comments regarding Moledo or Azevedo. My experience steers me away from name dropping. Anything can change at any moment. I don’t speak about non-concluded transfers. Even a player of high quality and top level cannot adjust to a team right away. He will need time. He can’t play without knowing the team and the league. That will be a huge error and will hinder his performance. It will also be unfair to the rest of his team-mates. The procedure needs to be smooth«.

On releasing players and when he expects the final configuration of his roster:

«In recent trainings, we had 20 players without the goalkeepers – that is an ideal number. Those who are here, work correctly and want to help the team will get their chances. We will speak to those who don’t want to help and will see what happens«.