Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach Paulo Sousa and team captain Sheran Yeini spoke at a press conference in Cyprus ahead of tomorrow night's Europa League tie with APOEL Nicosia
With seven points taken from four matches, Maccabi Tel Aviv arrived in Cyprus today leading their Cypriot opponents in tomorrow night's group F Europa League tie, APOEL Nicosia, by three points. A Maccabi win, and perhaps even a draw, will suffice to catapult the club into the last 32 of the competition, but head coach Paulo Sousa insists that the team's passage to the next stage will face a stern test at APOEL's GSP Stadium: "With their new head coach, APOEL have demonstrated in their last few matches that they are aggressive enough to achieve the desired results. We're preparing for that more aggressive approach and for a more attack-minded APOEL than we saw when they played in Israel because that's what the new head coach has taught them".
Sousa also addressed the fact that because of their league results so far this season, APOEL are under a great deal of pressure from their fans and the local media: "We have the same pressure here in Israel, that's the way it is in football and for Maccabi Tel Aviv but my lads know how to perform under pressure. I hope the pressure on APOEL won't have any positive affect on their performance and that we'll be able to play our game the way we like, and put the reins on theirs".
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He also spoke about the progress the team had made in their European performances so far: "Right now we're a work in progress, a team that won the league title last season for the first time in ten years and this season have done amazingly well in Europe. That's something we want to continue to do, and improve in, we intend to continue to develop in European competitions so that with each passing year we'll feel more at home in those competitions. Since we started our European campaign it's been our aim to play ambitiously and positively and I'm very happy that my players have deserved the recognition they have earned for that effort. We're playing well and I hope we'll continue to do so tomorrow too".
Maccabi captain Sheran Yeini also hopes the team will achieve their objectives in the match tomorrow: "A victory would be very important for us, we want to go into the match with the kind of positive spirit and determination that the coach asks of us, the kind we want to achieve as a team. If possible we'd like to get as far in the competition as we possibly can and achieve something, we want to continue to improve and that's a goal the club have set for themselves. We're ready for the match, we feel that way too, we're aware of the importance of this game and we'll give it everything we have to advance to the next stage".
