On his feelings after the Benfica much and whether it will be easy to focus on league action:

«We trained yesterday and do the same today as well, focusing on the Panionios encounter with all players at our disposal. I can’t talk on behalf of the players, but only about myself. I am very satisfied with the great spell we had together. We played against great rivals and I am proud of our work and our players. There is disappointment of course, because we had so much hope, we believed we could advance. But Benfica proved to be superior and the final result seems normal.

If we were to line up all these results in a group stage, we could have qualified to the next round. We came up very strong opposition, played back-to-back encounter knowing that every error would be costly. It’s tough to play such games non-stop, the whole experience was fantastic. Now we move to the UEFA Europa League aiming to progress from the group stage, because that will help us in the future«.

On aiming for the league title:

«We have talked about it, it’s obvious. We had to win it last season, we are the rightful league winners. It’s different to play against Basel, Spartak Moscow and Benfica and different to follow the champions path of the qualifiers. However, thanks to the “fantastic” Athens committee, we had to follow the hard path. Let’s leave that all behind us though. Let’s focus on the encounter against Panionios«.

On how a coach can handle such a situation within the team:

«Such things happen in a coach’s life. It’s tough to play in the UEFA Champions League and then focus on the domestic front. One needs to be prepared. We have to be ready, to have to realize that we need to win the league in order to reach this level again. That is why we must go out on the pitch on Sunday and win«.

On the last day of the transfer window:

«I hate this day. I am glad the transfer window is over. I don’t know anything about the Prijović issue and I don’t want to know. I don’t want to know about surprised. I just want this day to be over already«.

On Panionios:

«They have adopted their coach’s style of play, the one he had at Levadiakos. Panionios are a good side, organized, that can create problems to the rivals. We need to be very careful and ready to respond to the task. The final result depends on us. If we insist thinking about Europe, things will get complicated and we will have a tough time«.

On Lamprou:

«I was informed that he will leave. It’s his decision as well. It’s logical. He is a young player and wants time on the pitch. It would be hard for him, just featuring in 4, 5 or 10 games. It will be good for his future to go somewhere and enjoy a full season«.

On whether he wants his side to pressure right from the start, as they did against SL Benfica:

«We didn’t apply pressure just in the beginning. We did so later as well and created many opportunities until Benfica’s second penalty earned. Such encounters are usually decided by one or two errors. They are about self-confidence, maturity, quick thinking. After their second goal, we lost intensity, but created chances. The team didn’t give up. We try to look ahead. It’s a matter of experience as well, we need to be mentally strong. Such rivals provide the opportunity for us to acquire knowledge, to be able to switch styles, to balance our minds. It’s one thing to be one step away from making it to the UEFA Champions League group stage and another to play in the league, the battlefield of each and every week.

Had we not conceded such goals, we were confident. But our rivals took advantage of one mistake and changed the course of the encounter. We needed to be calm and, when we achieved that, we managed to play good football. I only wanted to speak about Panionios. But as a professional, I realized by the end of the game that our opponents were at a higher level. The scoreline disappointed me though, my team didn’t deserve it. Benfica created one opportunity and mostly responded well to our errors«.

On the team’s draw in the UEFA Europa League:

«I am just waiting for Saturday to come. We must win the match and get the three points «.