Panathinaikos coach Jacob Neestrup said his team will make few changes to the starting lineup for Thursday's Conference League return leg against Paksi, arguing that Panathinaikos remain the stronger side despite a tight first-leg result.
Panathinaikos go into the return match on July 30 at 21:30 holding a 2-1 lead from the first leg in Hungary, a cushion in their bid to reach the third qualifying round of the Conference League.
At a press conference on Wednesday, July 29, Neestrup said the team was focused on itself and had analyzed Paksi closely. He said Panathinaikos knew what Paksi had done in Hungarian football over the past three or four years, describing them as a team with strong cohesion built up over years together, which he said was evident both in the first leg and in Paksi's match against Ferencvaros.
Neestrup called Paksi a team that will fight and a tough opponent, pointing to their high pressing and set pieces as particular strengths. Even so, he said he believed Panathinaikos would find a way to beat them again.
Missed chances and the ÓAKA atmosphere
Asked about chances squandered in the first leg and about his own home debut, Neestrup said every coach wants players to score when they are in a position to do so, but that scoring was not the only issue, adding that not conceding many chances mattered too. He said he believed his team had not conceded many chances in the first leg.
He said he expected Panathinaikos to convert their big chances better on Thursday. Neestrup said he had experienced excellent supporters during his time in Copenhagen and expected a similarly good atmosphere at the ÓAKA, saying he believed the fans would give the team an extra push. He said he hoped supporters would stay with the team through good and bad moments over the course of the season, adding that there would be difficult moments and that the team would need that support.
Few changes expected to the lineup
On the possibility of lineup changes, Neestrup said he did not think much would change. He said the team had created many chances in the first leg and could have won by a wider margin. He described Panathinaikos as the better team but said Paksi were not weak, calling them a good side.
He said there might be some adjustments to the team's approach compared with the first leg, but cautioned against expecting many changes overall.
Neestrup said no coach can fully implement his footballing philosophy at a club within just a few matches. At a club of Panathinaikos' level, he said, a coach has to find a way to apply that philosophy while still getting results, adding that this would take time but that results were needed in parallel. He said it was not realistic to expect perfection at this stage and that things would not be perfect, but that the team had to get results both in Europe and in the Greek league, where matches begin in less than a month.
De Vrij on being named captain
Defender Stefan de Vrij represented the players at the press conference and was asked about being made club captain. He said it was a great honor and responsibility, adding that everyone at the club had helped him a lot and that his first weeks had gone well. De Vrij, who is 34 and has extensive experience at international level, said the team was working well and that his message was for the squad to stay focused in order to keep improving day by day and to play the way the coach wants.
He noted that Panathinaikos had already played and beaten Paksi the previous week, but said the team knew it still had to finish the job on Thursday by winning and securing qualification.
De Vrij said he had been somewhat surprised at first to be named captain, but that it made sense to him. He said he wants to be an example for the team, to help the squad improve every day and to support his teammates.
Asked what the team needs to watch out for to reach the League Phase, De Vrij said, laughing, that he was not especially experienced with summer qualifying rounds. He said the team needs to focus and prepare match by match, in the same way the coaching staff prepares them, which he said Neestrup does excellently. He added that every Panathinaikos match has to be played with the aim of winning it.
