Maccabi Tel Aviv midfielder Dor Micha is preparing for Monday night’s match at Bnei Sakhnin, 20:30 to begin the second round of WINNER League games. With the Champions League campaign coming to an end, Micha had an opportunity to feature for the club against Dynamo Kiev in the Ukraine and now has a chance to continue to feature:

“I was very happy to have a chance to play in Kiev and I’m happy to be able to speak to you today. The coach and I had a chance to talk together over the past few weeks. The conservations were not extra special but he told me what his expectations were for me and how I could continue to improve going forward.”

Why was he out of the squad for a couple of weeks:

“He felt that some players should have been in the squad in front of me. There’s nothing personal that the coach has against me. I’m happy he let me play last match and I’ll keep working hard to earn my place. There were some times when I was not as good and others where I was. As long as I keep training hard and play the way the coach wants me to play I’ll continue to be a factor for the team.”

Had he thought of leaving:

“I haven’t thought at all about leaving and Maccabi is my home. That is not even a thought. I know where I am and what kind of high level club I am playing with.”

On the Champions League:

“We believed that we could play well every match and we tried to give our maximum, but it just wasn’t enough at this level. We gave 100% every match and even though 11 years ago Maccabi picked up four points you can’t compare the two campaigns whatsoever.”

Championship rivals Hapoel Beer Sheva:

“Beer Sheva is a very strong team and they also improved this year. We have to play better football as well in order to make sure we finish in first place.”

Playing Bnei Sakhnin tomorrow:

“Of course we would like to score an early goal in league matches and that will help open up the games for us. That way we won’t have to go deep into the match to try and find a winner.”