Sznaucer: «Passion and organisation»
Miroslav Sznaucner shared his thoughts and insights on the upcoming Super League Interwetten Matchday 12 clash against Aris to the Novasports cameras. Read what the Pole said on paokfc.gr.
On the team’s European adventure:
«We wanted to progress to the knockout stage. We lost that opportunity in the two matches against Omonia – that much is clear. We have ourselves to blame for that, it must be said. The key positive from it all was that PAOK managed to play once more in the group stage, and we showed that we remain a big club, especially in the matches against PSV Eindhoven. Now we look forward. Lots of our young players from the academy got some playing time and I hope that we will play again in Europe next season so we can be even more ready to compete.»
On the busy fixture list up to now and if things will be easier now that the club will not have as many commitments:
«We had a lot of games, and we did not have a lot of time to prepare each time. We also changed systems of course, as under the previous coach the team was playing in a different way. There was not a great deal of time for us to get the team playing how we want, but still this can’t be used as an excuse. We continue to push on and we need more time to see what we are working on in training transferred to the pitch on a match day.»
On the match against Aris and the statuses of Vieirinha and Rodrigo
«We know what to expect. We have experienced it ourselves as players. It will be a tough game, with a lot of one-on-one duels happening all over the pitch. Vieirinha began full training yesterday, so we’ll have to see what part he plays. Rodrigo is definitely out, he’s not ready yet. The rest of the squad are ready and are preparing for the match. with the exception of El Kaddouri, who is suspended.»
On the absence of El Kaddouri for the trip to the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium:
«El Kaddouri is a very useful player for us. He made the mistake that he did, and was sent-off. We’ll miss him; we like to have his experience, but what’s done is done. We have a deep roster and whoever plays [in his place] will give their best. We can’t change anything about him being missing.»
On what he expects from Sunday’s match:
«Aris have lost just once, against Olympiacos. We expect a difficult game in Harilaou. It’s a tough place to go for any team, even without supporters there. We have quality, and we’ll get the message across to the players about what they should expect; we will be ready.»
On how PAOK should play:
«With passion, competitiveness, and of course organization.»
On the players who have come through the academy and how difficult it is for them to adjust to the level of the Super League:
«It’s not easy. We have a lot of young players and have worked with all of them. We know who can help us right now. And we have players with big futures. We can’t put them all in the team. For example, Tziolis plays with the experienced pros, is a useful player for us and is in great form. We have other players behind him and they need time and support.»
