Nilsson confident of CL progression
Credit: Extratime Team (ETPhotos)
As the build up to one of the most eagerly anticipated games in Shamrock Rovers’ history nears kick off, FC Copenhagen boss Roland Nilsson is quietly confident his side will prevail over an opposition he and his charges have learned a great deal about from their first leg encounter one week ago.
Speaking in a pre-match press conference at the Tallaght Stadium, the former Coventry defender and manager was optimistic about his side’s ability to play their normal style of football regardless of the lead they hold.
“We are expecting the same as the game in Copenhagen; it will be a tough fight. We are more ready today than the last time. We know what is coming against us. We know the players better. We are in the lead at this moment but we know we have to have a good performance and do what we should do, and go for the game and try and score a goal here.
“Shamrock [Rovers] did very well against us. We think we can step it up for tomorrow’s game and play better than we played in the last game.”
When questioned about the game plan to be employed by his outfit, Nilsson kept things quite simple.
“Of course we would be delighted if we scored an early goal; that would put more pressure on Shamrock [Rovers]. Whatever happens we will keep on playing. We will play our normal way. We know the team we are going to play tomorrow, and we are going to discuss a couple of things in tactics, but there won’t be many changes in the tactics from the last game.
“When you play games like this, scoring goals is important. If you know that you are performing well there is a very good chance you will score goals. We are good at defending. We haven’t conceded that many goals. We are a good team that attacks and scores goals as well. A good performance is necessary for us.
“We want to play long in Europe. It is an important game for us.”
In his brief analysis of the first leg encounter, the 2010 Swedish Manager of the Year was critical of any side that sits back once going in front.
“I think we got a very good start. We scored after three minutes. It seemed like we were thinking about scoring another and we lost the shape we had, and we lost the tempo. If you lose that in the game it is very hard to pick it up again. We play for 90 minutes and everything can happen in 90 minutes. Sometimes an early goal can show you think you can start doing different stuff on the pitch instead of keeping the organisation and keep working as normal.
“It’s dangerous to start to sit off. That’s when you start losing your shape and your tempo, and you invite the other team to come at you. We have a good defence but we have a very good attack as well so we will be attacking.”
Speaking in a pre-match press conference at the Tallaght Stadium, the former Coventry defender and manager was optimistic about his side’s ability to play their normal style of football regardless of the lead they hold.
“We are expecting the same as the game in Copenhagen; it will be a tough fight. We are more ready today than the last time. We know what is coming against us. We know the players better. We are in the lead at this moment but we know we have to have a good performance and do what we should do, and go for the game and try and score a goal here.
“Shamrock [Rovers] did very well against us. We think we can step it up for tomorrow’s game and play better than we played in the last game.”
When questioned about the game plan to be employed by his outfit, Nilsson kept things quite simple.
“Of course we would be delighted if we scored an early goal; that would put more pressure on Shamrock [Rovers]. Whatever happens we will keep on playing. We will play our normal way. We know the team we are going to play tomorrow, and we are going to discuss a couple of things in tactics, but there won’t be many changes in the tactics from the last game.
“When you play games like this, scoring goals is important. If you know that you are performing well there is a very good chance you will score goals. We are good at defending. We haven’t conceded that many goals. We are a good team that attacks and scores goals as well. A good performance is necessary for us.
“We want to play long in Europe. It is an important game for us.”
In his brief analysis of the first leg encounter, the 2010 Swedish Manager of the Year was critical of any side that sits back once going in front.
“I think we got a very good start. We scored after three minutes. It seemed like we were thinking about scoring another and we lost the shape we had, and we lost the tempo. If you lose that in the game it is very hard to pick it up again. We play for 90 minutes and everything can happen in 90 minutes. Sometimes an early goal can show you think you can start doing different stuff on the pitch instead of keeping the organisation and keep working as normal.
“It’s dangerous to start to sit off. That’s when you start losing your shape and your tempo, and you invite the other team to come at you. We have a good defence but we have a very good attack as well so we will be attacking.”
