The Opposite View: Poznan Manager on 'biggest game' for his players
Lech Poznań manager Niels Frederiksen and defender Joel Pereira are delighted to have the opportunity to come up against Premier League opposition this evening, as they get set to take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park tonight...
In their Manager's words...
In his pre-match press conference, Frederiksen – formerly in charge of Denmark Under-21s and Brøndby – spoke about the opportunity which facing Palace presents for the Polish league champions: "You know, when you play against the team from Premier League, then you know there will be high quality and also higher quality than we are used to playing against.
"That's also the reason why we are looking forward to the game tomorrow, because it's also a way to measure ourselves against a really strong opponent. It's probably one of the biggest games we have played so far in the history of the club. Also for many of the players, it will be the biggest game, I think.
"It will be very interesting and, of course, we have analysed Crystal Palace quite a lot, I would say. We have put up a game plan that we think will work.
"Of course, we have to be clever, but it's also very important that we are not losing ourselves. We have a style we like to play, and the reason behind that is that that's our quality, and we have to stick to that also. So for us, it will be a balance in the game tomorrow, of course, but we should be able to recognise ourselves in the game."
Frederiksen added: "We are not here to accept a small defeat or something. We are here to try to win the game.
"Maybe it can be a draw also. Maybe we will be okay with that. But when we go on the pitch, we go to try to win. We are always doing that.
"Even though we have a lot of respect for the opponents, we also know our own qualities. We have shown in many games that we have a high level also and we can play football. We have good players on all positions.
"The ambition will be to promote and go to the knockout phase in the tournament. Of course, it will be a bit more difficult this season because it's not the Conference League anymore. It's Europa League and that's a step up for us compared to last season.
"But I think that's also what we would like to do. As I said in the beginning of the conference here, it's also for us a way to measure ourselves against good teams and also a way of developing our players and the team, of course."
Pereira: It's a dream come true for me
Right-back Joel Pereira, formerly of Porto's academy but with a career spanning spells in Cyprus, Slovakia and now Poland, admitted: "It's a dream come true for me. If I have an opportunity to play tomorrow, I would enjoy it a lot.
"This stadium and this pitch, I dream for this. If I have an opportunity, I would enjoy it the most I can.
"Like coach said, we have our identity, so we will not change a lot. Of course, we need to change something to try to do something against this strong team. But we will continue to play like Poznań in Poland and European competitions, I think, and we hope to do this.
"But I think the big difference between Crystal Palace and the Ekstraklasa teams, it's physicality, the speed, and also the quality. Because of this, they play in the Premier League."
Lech Poznan Team News
Frederiksen confirmed that former Hull forward Allahyar Sayyadmanesh would be available for the match following an initial issue with his visa, and that midfielder Radek Murawski, was fully fit and available.
Winger Daniel Håkans, meanwhile, could play for a short stint of the game.
For Palace's team news head here.
Crystal Palace v Lech Poznan
- Thursday, 17th September
- 20:00 BST
- UEFA Europa League: League phase matchday one
- Selhurst Park
- Tickets available here.
- Live audio commentary on Palace TV+.