Below follow Pedro Martins quotes at the press conference after losing 4-0 to Maccabi Haifa in “G. Karaiskakis”, for the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.
In detail, the press conference of the Portuguese coach…
During both games with Maccabi, Olympiacos has failed to create a goal-scoring opportunity or show signs of improvement. What is your comment on this, as this is how the side looked like last season and quite evidently in the last two matches?
I won’t entirely agree with you, although I respect your opinion. We got off to a good start in the match despite the fact that we suffered an early goal and tried to turn it around. The second half was not a good one on our side. Maccabi forced us to fall back in both games. We identified the problems and what went wrong – the early goal in the first half changed our plans. I understand the difficulty of this situation, we have lost the first objective of the season and I assume responsibility. But tomorrow is a new day and we really need to change that picture.
Olympiacos has suffered an overwhelming defeat with a poor performance. In the equation that arises following that performance, you talk about the future and the next day, while you said you assume responsibility. Does this mean ‘I quit’, unless we’ve got something wrong? Do you see yourself with Olympiacos in the future?
There is no such phrase “I quit” in my vocabulary. I have not thought of resigning in many things in my life and neither will I do so with Olympiacos. I will continue to work and deal with the challenge, as I have done so far in my life, because my vocabulary does not include the phrase “I quit.”.
Olympiacos has suffered one of the biggest defeats in Europe, by a team that is not a behemoth. So, a question to the coach: do you believe that the circle is closed? We noticed that following the 0–2, the players were somehow looking to the sky in Karaiskakis. Do you think that you and the team have the courage to turn things around?
I feel capable and strong, I will never stop believing in my team and my players. We are going through one of the most difficult moments in the team’s history. I recall one bad moment three years ago; it was not as bad to be honest. I understand what you’re saying, but I feel like the strength is always there because I’ll never stop believing in the team.
Do you believe that you are part of the problem of poor displays since last season?
I will repeat myself – it’s up to me and the team. We’ll get through the tough times and move on. If you believe that I’m part of the problem, then I believe I’m part of the solution. I can see that you’re insisting on last year, but we won the championship by a large lead. We ended up winning. Let’s focus on today’s problems.
Do you believe that the team was prepared for this tie games?
Honestly, this was how I felt based on the analysis and the data. My faith in the team is absolute and that made me believe the team was ready. That’s what the data and analyses showed.
