Maccabi Tel Aviv will take on CSKA Sofia at the Vasil Levski Stadium, for the second leg of their Europa League third round qualifying tie as they look to overturn a three-goal deficit from the first leg in Batumi. Head coach Kenny Miller spoke at the press conference about the team’s belief that it can turn the tie around and the professional challenges that await them.

“When you’re 3-0 down heading into a second leg, it’s always going to be a difficult challenge,” Miller began. “At the same time, it’s not an impossible challenge. I think we learned a lot from last week’s game and that’s very important. We have to believe that we can overturn this deficit. We had opportunities in the previous game where we could have scored, and there were moments when we weren’t at our best. We need to make sure that tomorrow we are at our best and when we get our opportunities, we know how to take them.”

Asked about the preparations for the opposition and whether there had been a misjudgment in the first leg, the coach replied, “There was no misjudgment. We knew exactly what we were up against. As I said, we were responsible for our own downfall in that game. We controlled large parts of it, we had early chances that we should have scored, and goals change the psychology of every football match. We expect a tough challenge, just like last week, but we have to reduce the mistakes and take advantage of the opportunities we create.”

Miller also talked about the team’s attacking ability in away matches, “We know that we are capable of scoring goals as a team. Not long ago, we scored five goals away from home against Sheriff. We have good quality in the squad, but the key is to prevent the unnecessary mistakes. There were instances last week when we gave the ball away without being under pressure and put ourselves in difficult situations. When we are the dominant team and have possession, we have to be creative and ruthless in the box.”

In conclusion, the coach emphasized the readiness of both the staff and the players, “We have prepared ourselves well. As a coaching staff, we have done our job and we know exactly what we will face Thursday. It’s very important that we believe we can go through. The work has been done, we are ready, and we believe we can achieve the right result in this game.”