Maccabi Tel Aviv plays their final regular season game this Saturday night at the Netanya Stadium (20:30) on Matchday 36 of the Ligat Ha’Al Championship Playoffs and this morning the prematch press conference took place at Kiryat Shalom. The Yellow & Blue Head Coach Lito Vidigal spoke about the upcoming contest and a number of other issues that he and the Club are facing in the near future:
“We must finish off the season with a good performance. Afterwards we can begin to think about the State Cup Final. This is an important match but as I always say, we go from match to match. I know it’s not easy and it’s normal that the players are thinking about the State Cup Final but it’s important to stay focussed in order to end the regular season well.”
About the loss to Maccabi Petah Tikva:
“We had a normal week, and the week prior to that we won and we felt the same way. We know that we must play well in every match until the end of the season. I want the players to be focused during our training sessions and drills and when we have to deal with a certain situation we will do just that.”
Rotation of players:
“Over the last few matches I’ve been giving players who haven’t had a lot of minutes the chance to play and I will continue to do so. It’s important for them and for the Club as a whole.”
Next season’s plans:
“We’ve been doing that for 3 months already. We are discussing all of our options for next season when we have a chance to do so. Other than Jordi, I also speak to others at Maccabi about the Club. Of course my opinion is important but we always make decisions together.”
The Brazilian players:
“Perhaps they will play on Saturday, we will see. I want to give everyone a chance and we have training sessions prior to the match. It’s difficult to get acclimated when you come from a different country in the middle of the season. Even if I brought Messi or Ronaldo in they would need time to learn the club and the new place that they are in.”
