Before Rangers: Quotes from the press conference
Jindřich Trpišovský, Slavia manager
“Our team is different in compare to the Round of 16 two years ago. But many players mostly in defence remember the games against Sevilla two years ago. It is not easy to replace some of the players, but the current team is equally strong as the one from 2019.”
“Rangers score a lot of goals, in Europe they scored three against Benfica, two in Poznan, then the two legs against Antwerp… It’s a well-balanced team, excellent in front and a very hard-working in defence.”
“I think the game won’t be like that against Leicester. Both teams have fast players up front and rely on the attacking three, but their defensive, the pressing and re-pressing are different. All three Rangers midfielders are more focused on the defence and you rarely see someone get into the counter-attack against them.”
“I admire football on the British Isles, and I wanted to be drawn against a Scottish club as we haven’t played against them yet. One of the reasons, unfortunately, was the atmosphere on their stadiums. I am looking forward to Ibrox, it’s another magical place of European football.”
“Steven Gerrard belonged to my favourite players. I have seen many of his games and meeting him will be a great experience for me. It would never come across my mind that it could happen. When I had the chance to have Milan Baroš in my team, he told me a lot about him. He always spoke with great respect about him, not only about his football skills, but also about is leadership ability.”
Lukáš Provod, midfielder
“We have to compete in the Czech league and the Czech cup, but we are in the similar phase of the season. Rangers have won the league, but they have a game against Celtic and other hard games ahead. I don’t think it will affect their performance.”
“We need to concentrate to the maximum, to help each other. There are no weak teams in this stage of the competition, and it will be a difficult game for us. Physical strength will be a key. But this game will also be a reward for us, and we are looking forward to it. We will be hundred per cent concentrated.”
“The games against Leicester showed us that when we keep our style of play, we can profit from it and we can defeat those teams. But both teams – Leicester and Rangers – are different and I expect a different set of games.”
