Right before Maccabi Tel Aviv’s final training session at Stamford Bridge, Head Coach Slavisa Jokanovic answered questions from the local and Israeli press at the official pre-match press conference.

“It’s a wonderful feeling. Chelsea is part of my past and here I am once again. I was here at the beginning of 2015 when I was with Watford and we took a step to having the club promoted to the Premier League. I didn’t remain with the team after the season but as you see I found my way back to London, I had some great years in England and I’m happy to be with Maccabi Tel Aviv. It’s a great test to see how we will fare against a very strong opponent. I’m happy to see how Chelsea continues to advance and improve and I believe they have a terrific future ahead of them for decades to come.”

On his current plans:

“Right now I’m with Maccabi and we have achieved some good results and have improved as a team. I’m concentrating on enjoying testing myself and seeing how I handle the players and the Israeli league at this moment. It’s been 11 years since Maccabi has been to this tournament and I’m very happy to be here.”

On facing Mourinho and Chelsea:

“Mourinho is one of the greatest managers in the world, and I think that the cards he can play are a bit better than mine. We of course respect Chelsea, the club and the manager as they are one of the best in Europe, but we also have to respect ourselves and perform properly. We don’t just play with five players but a whole team. That’s how to play football.”

On the opportunity to play Chelsea:

“To play against Chelsea is always a great opportunity. It’s not my problem as to how Chelsea is doing in the Premier League. I’m surprised that they’ve only collected four points and I’m sure we won’t have many chances tomorrow night as they are going to come into the match with extra motivation to try and deal with the issues that they’ve been having. They have a game against Arsenal coming up and I’m sure they are dealing with it, but that’s not my problem.”