His initial statement:

«It’s the worst situation for us and me personally, the worst possible scenario. We weren’t expecting to miss out on this qualification. That’s the reality. We wanted to play a different game today, but failed. Östersunds FK dominated, had more energy and power. Whenever we got the ball, we would lose it immediately. When we held on to the ball, we managed to create some dangerous situations. Their first goal messed with our plans –that was bad luck, because it should have been clearly disallowed for offside. But it made Östersunds FK even livelier in attack. We conceded twice in the same manner and lacked the energy to stop their shots. It’s a hard blow, but we must hit the restart button from tomorrow«.

On what led to this result:

«I said it clearly. Their physical condition was better and allowed them to react and make us lose ball possession«.

On the team’s mentality:

«That cannot be remedied overnight. In recent years, PAOK have been struggling away from home. Sometimes, when level in physical condition with their rivals, they were able to impose their higher quality. That is not an excuse, it’s the reality«.

On how to deal with the physical condition issue:

«I don’t want to enter in comparisons, but our rivals had better physical condition. It’s not easy to improve in 9-10 days. From now on, we will work on that too«.

On lack of personality and if that can be dealt with:

«I agree that it’s my responsibility to assume and deal with. Good results give us a self-confidence boost. When the contrary happens, when results are not there, everything can go down the drain. It’s a tough spell and we need to overcome it. Both I, the main responsible, and the players, we must make the best out of this situation«.

On the substitution of Biseswar:

«We lost the midfield right from the start. Biseswar made a big effort, but lacked effectiveness. We couldn’t hold on to the ball, especially after the hour mark, and I wanted a player who could run. At that point he couldn’t be helpful«.

On the day after and eventual transfers:

«There are some issues pending and I hope that everything will go well in the end. I know it’s a tough period for PAOK fans, for us and our job. This is not the time to pass judgment on the players. Right now, it wasn’t their fault«.