Tal Ben Haim, the Yellow & Blue veteran central defender addressed the media at the prematch press conference ahead of tomorrow night’s Europa League Matchday 5 encounter against Slavia Prague at the Netanya Stadium, 22:05. Number 26 discussed the injured players who will be returning to action as well as the importance of Thursday’s match:
“We are used to playing a couple of times a week and the break came at a good time which gave us a chance to regain our energy. We played very well last match against Astana but couldn’t find the back of the goal. Tomorrow’s game can give us confidence going into the league match on Sunday.”
Importance of the fans:
“The fans are important to us and we know they are disappointed. We will give our best and look ahead to Sunday’s league match at Hapoel Haifa which is very important.”
Was not having the injured players available an excuse to the club’s play prior to the break?
“I don’t think it’s an excuse. There were close to 50% of the starting lineup who were out and we didn’t have that much time to work on things during the summer. We had a number of good training sessions the past few weeks and everyone knows their role.”
Playing both defense and offense:
“We gave up a number of goals that we weren’t happy with and everyone needs to play both on the defensive and offensive sides of the game. I hope we will see this already tomorrow and on Sunday.”
Getting back the injured players:
“I’m sure the players who were injured will be a huge asset to the club once they get into shape. They will help Maccabi play the way that we know how to play best.”
