After recording its first victory in the Slovodan Drapich era last week with 0:2 over Maccabi Bnei Rayna in Bloomfield, Hapoel Tel Aviv will go to the stadium in Netanya and meet Hapoel Hadera on Sunday, with the aim of continuing the momentum and achieving a second victory in a row. Today (Thursday), the team’s coach spoke at a press conference before the game. The journey was broadcast live on the website.
You come after a victory, does it release pressure?
“Before that there were good trainings but there was pressure. Reina came after two wins and we were scared, but I think we played a good game and didn’t give them many chances. It gave us a more relaxed week than it was before.”
What about the wounded?
“Eddie Gottlieb is healthy, Conte and Pablo Gonzalez are training and we have a full squad. We’ll see who will play.”
Tell about the feelings after the victory.
“We have the 24-hour rule, both after losses and victories. You don’t need to be in mourning all week. League is a marathon and you have to prepare for the next game properly. The same with victories, one should not be euphoric. In total we won two games in eight games and we are still in a bad situation. If we don’t take points then we didn’t do anything last week.”
Are you closed on the players yet?
“Still working on the names. (jokingly). I think against Raina they already saw a team with style and there was a change from before.”
Hadera closed against Maccabi Haifa. How do you deal with it?
“She only lost to Maccabi Tel Aviv and Haifa and collected a lot of points, so she can be quiet. This is a strong team with three good defenders and a good young coach. We have to be careful and not underestimate, just like you shouldn’t underestimate any team.”
Are there plans for changes?
“Every week is something different. I still don’t know. We are waiting for Case Ghanem to return from injury. If he is healthy until January then we have strikers, but he could be fantastic and I could be disappointed with him. We have Star who is an Olympic team stopper and Conte and Eddy who are excellent, we have excellent defenders as well. For now this is our staff. It may be that in January I will be satisfied with the squad and I may want four more players.”
Or Israelov will return only after the break?
“He just returned to training now. He has congestion and knee problems. With him and Stav, Makin has a bright future to work in this position.”
After the events of the derby do you have a creative idea for punishment?
“Only it wasn’t without an audience like it was in Corona. It’s very sad to play without an audience. It’s better to have a radius than no audience.”
You have a match against Beitar Jerusalem soon, how scary is it that it will fall on this match?
“What I want is to be with the audience, whatever we get I can’t complain. I have to train the team and prepare it for any situation.”
Also the procurement relationship from Hapoel Be’er Sheva, David Keltins He participated in the youth party and shared about his adjustment in the new club, his feelings, his goals and why he left the trophy holder.
Tell me about the acclimatization.
“I came here with the aim of playing. I know what I’m worth and I know I deserve to play. My acclimatization is fast because of Slobo who trained me in Beitar and also the players I played with there. I like this place and we have a good staff.”
What are the feelings about the expected punishment?
“I hope we don’t get a penalty for playing without an audience, because then the fans who didn’t take part in what will happen in the derby will smoke for nothing. Everyone knows the importance of the audience.”
Was there pressure after the derby because of everything that happened?
“Maybe I’m indifferent by nature, but I didn’t pay attention to it. I really enjoyed the derby in terms of the atmosphere. In terms of the result, I think we could have done more.”
what are your goals
“I want to continue playing and leading and I know I can contribute. I want us to score points and be in a high place later on.”
Did you want to leave B.S.?
“I want to thank everyone there, I had an amazing time there with trophies and Europe, but I expected that I would get more confidence and patience. New players arrived who were given priority and I decided that I didn’t want to be in a swinging situation and wanted a place that believed in me.”