I liken the second leg to playing the Old Firm really, ... We've had good results in Glasgow the last couple of times we've been there. |
I still remember the excitement within our camp that we were going to be playing Inter Milan. Their squad was filled with names like Seedorf, Adriano, Vieri and Ronaldo. |
I think this story is a case of people printing things and getting their facts wrong. I'm not prepared at this moment to say what the contact with Chelsea was about. |
I will reflect on the game for the next few days, |
I'm sure the officials will be strong. |
I've always said they are an entertaining-to-watch football team. |
If Derek wants to sign his contract extension, then everything would be great and we could just get on with things. That has always been the case. I have always said that the best-case scenario for us and Derek is that he signs his contract extension and concentrates on his football and scoring goals until somebody that he is happy with comes in with the right money for him. |
If he is to last 90 minutes he must learn when to run, when to pass and when to hold the ball. It's been a fairytale two weeks for him and it is up to me to keep his feet on the ground. |
In the second half we probably created the better chances but that little bit of quality in the final third, when to pass, whether to shoot or square it, that's the difference. |
It is a cruel game and it is very harsh on the players. To come in 3-1 down at half-time felt unfair and the penalty was a killer for us. It looked very soft. At 2-1 down, we were just one goal away from winning the tie and in with a real chance. |
It was just a storm in a tea-cup. |
It's a journey into the unknown, ... but we will be doing our utmost to get as much information on them as possible. We are going to be underdogs and the fact they won their group last season suggests they are a very good team. We have to be more than wary of them and we will prepare very thoroughly. |
Last season Dnipro won their group against teams like [Real] Zaragoza, [Club] Brugge [KV] and [FC] Utrecht and therein lies the task for us. They have a squad packed with Ukrainian internationals who romped away with a [FIFA] World Cup qualifying group that included Denmark, who humbled England recently, and Greece who won the [2004 UEFA] European Championship. So we are under no illusions that it's going to be a tough game. |
Mentally Derek was ready to play, he just didn't get into the side. I didn't feel he'd be part of the team that would give us the best platform to win the game. |
Now is the time for players like [Kevin] Thomson and [Scott] Brown and other young players to step forward and take on the mantle left by Guillaume. |