We are coming into this match in very good shape. If you’ve seen us play the last few months the players have gotten better and better as they play how I want them to play on the pitch. We were unlucky the last couple of matches against Maccabi Haifa and Sakhnin where we created many chances but couldn’t score. At the end of the day, you must score. That’s the most important part of the game. The players are confident, fit and ready for this game.
There are no mind games in this match where you may start counting points by drawing, winning or losing. The situation here is clear; we must win.
As a child you dream about playing in these games and as a coach, you dream about playing in these types of matches for the title. If you look back at prior years at this same time, Maccabi was five points or seven points ahead. Now we are three points behind and if we win we will be number one in the league. So we have to enjoy these moments.
We as coaches try to do everything for the team, to help prepare them well, tell them how the opponent plays and how we want them to play. But I also believe that we need the fans help as they can give us something extra to win this game. They can do this by standing behind the team and cheering them from the first minute. In football you can make mistakes. But the fans must continue to support us throughout as it will help us in those difficult moments. You can be the X-Factor in this match.
I’ve been here for four months now and in Holland you may bring 500 fans to an away game. Here at Maccabi, it’s amazing how many fans travel to the away games. The atmosphere is amazing and the atmosphere in Bloomfield is tremendous as the whole stadium is full of fanatics. It’s really fantastic. I want to see you all exactly like that this evening.
