Marko Nikolic: We need to be sharp, play with stability and be patient

"We must not talk about Maltese football as if it was 10-15 years ago. It will not be an amateur side that arrives, but a team made up of professional footballers, including from Brazil and countries like Montenegro and Serbia. We will respect them and have taken our preparations very seriously for the first leg qualifier. I have been working for around 20 days now with the squad and the team really have been moving ahead day by day. Naturally there are always areas where you can develop, but I am satisfied so far from what I have seen in the friendly games and the things we have practised in training and the video analysis. Besides respecting our opponents, I feel that we have to direct things and make sure we go through to the next round over the two legs. There are no problems with the motivation within the team and we need to be sharp and play with stability and remain patient. I believe in the players and hope that despite the great heat and the summer break, many will come out to the Pancho Arena, as it means a lot to the team if they can feel the support behind them." - commented manager Marko Nikolic ahead of the evening game.