Olympiacos coach was satisfied following our side’s win to Lamia by 2-0 in G. Karaiskakis stadium for the Super League. The Spanish manager was also asked to comment on the coming domestic match against Panathinaikos.
Michel’s Press Conference in detail:
The Lamia encounter turned out to be easy following the side’s quick couple of goals scored. Given that the European spell if in fact over, everyone is thinking about the Panathinaikos fixture. Is this match the one to overwhelmingly decide if Olympiacos shall win the title?
Truth is that the gap in the table is big, but we are to face Panathinaikos 4 times and we will have the opportunity to earn points and start cutting their lead step by step. This is why we want to win also this time. Although the gap is big, I don’t think that it is equally big in terms of athletic performance. This doesn’t mean we do not recognize our opponent’s value and achievements so far, but we know well that they are also aware of the fact we have improved and we are in a better shape.
Can you tell us about the condition of Biel, Valbuena and Ba?
We wait for confirmation following the medical tests; sadly, we believe that Valbuena and Ba shall be sidelined for some time; as for Biel, he just fell a little discomfort before kick-off but nothing to worry about.
On Sunday Olympiacos shall play against Panathinaikos, a side that many in both the social media and the Press have crowned as the champion already, what will you say to your players who have certainly read all that. Also, what is your reply to those who claim that coach Michel is no team coach, but a team administrator, although there are obvious signs of improvement in the ream since you joined.
The season is not over and I am not going on vacations already. I insist -and this is without underestimating our opponent- that we recently played against teams in par with Panathinaikos, like Freiburg and Qarabag, and we have proven to be improved. Therefore, Panathinaikos themselves know that our tie won’t be that comfortable and we have also closed the gap in terms of performance. It shows in the way we play that we have a different mindset, we rule proceedings and we get the results we want, like we did today in Lamia. I know very well what it means to be a coach, I know what the word “coach” means, as well as the word “administrator”. However, I don’t get what a football team administrator means, I can’t understand that; if there is some criticism for me, it is welcome. To some extent, a coach should also be able to administer, let alone now since I have to administer 34 players who all have a great will to play and I am the one to properly handle this roster. I have suffered criticism both as a player and a coach quite some times, but I have never been called an administrator before. If they say that, they certainly have their reasons to do so but I fail to comprehend why this happens. Certainly, their do not mean it in a managerial way, because my office is nowhere else but in the pitch.
What is your first impression of Samassékou and Marcelo who seemed to be in his best state so far.
When we joined the club, we found players like Marcelo, Samassékou and Fortounis, who have been sidelined for a long time. So, they have to be given some time to improve their fitness and play in our next matches. Indeed, they have improved and thus they may provide some great solutions to our team, which is exactly what we have been waiting from them.
