Birkirkara FC head coach Giovanni Tedesco says his players will ‘give it their best shot’ to knock West Ham United out of the UEFA Europa League
Birkirkara FC head coach Giovanni Tedesco says his players will ‘give it their best shot’ to knock West Ham United out of the UEFA Europa League.
The Hammers arrive in Malta 1-0 up from their first leg of their second qualifying round tie, having dominated proceedings at the Boleyn Ground, but the circumstances and surroundings will be very different at the Ta’ Qali National Stadium.
The Maltese FA Trophy winners be on home turf and cheered on by more than 10,000 supporters, but they will also have the weather on their side, with daytime temperatures on the Mediterranean island approaching 35C (95F).
While he knows his team face a very tough task to oust Slaven Bilic’s side from the competition, Tedesco says they are in confident mood following their resilient first-leg showing in east London, and a fine first qualifying round win over Armenian club Ulisses.
“This is an easy match to prepare for because we are playing against a very good team and the motivation is high,” said Tedesco, who was part of the Palermo squad which knocked West Ham out of the UEFA Cup nine seasons ago. “We are going to give it our best shot and the rest will take care of itself.
“We know we have to score a goal but it is not something we can just say and will happen on the pitch. This is something completely different.
“There has been a growth in our team and I want these games to become something of the norm, and not something that is looked as an extraordinary experience.
“We know that the team comes before everything else and we feel that, with our performance at Upton Park, following on from our performance away in Armenia we are on the right track to becoming a team that looks at these games as something of the norm.”
The Hammers arrive in Malta 1-0 up from their first leg of their second qualifying round tie, having dominated proceedings at the Boleyn Ground, but the circumstances and surroundings will be very different at the Ta’ Qali National Stadium.
The Maltese FA Trophy winners be on home turf and cheered on by more than 10,000 supporters, but they will also have the weather on their side, with daytime temperatures on the Mediterranean island approaching 35C (95F).
While he knows his team face a very tough task to oust Slaven Bilic’s side from the competition, Tedesco says they are in confident mood following their resilient first-leg showing in east London, and a fine first qualifying round win over Armenian club Ulisses.
“This is an easy match to prepare for because we are playing against a very good team and the motivation is high,” said Tedesco, who was part of the Palermo squad which knocked West Ham out of the UEFA Cup nine seasons ago. “We are going to give it our best shot and the rest will take care of itself.
“We know we have to score a goal but it is not something we can just say and will happen on the pitch. This is something completely different.
“There has been a growth in our team and I want these games to become something of the norm, and not something that is looked as an extraordinary experience.
“We know that the team comes before everything else and we feel that, with our performance at Upton Park, following on from our performance away in Armenia we are on the right track to becoming a team that looks at these games as something of the norm.”
We know we have to score a goal but it is not something we can just say and will happen on the pitch. This is something completely different
More than 15,000 tickets have reportedly been sold for the tie, which was switched from Birkirkara’s own ground to the 17,800-capacity Ta’ Qali National Stadium.
Tedesco says the support of Maltese fans, regardless of their usual club commitments, will inspire his players to an even higher level of performance.
“Definitely the 15,000 people who come and support us will be a great help, but that is not enough, because we know we are playing against a very good team so other things come into play.
“Definitely the supporters can give us a big lift and hopefully we can use their support to help us overcome our opponent on Thursday.”
Aside from the huge level of support from the stands, Tedesco is also banking on his star player Fabrizio Miccoli being fit for the second leg. The head coach revealed that the former Italy international forward, now 36, has been carrying an injury and may miss the game.
“We do have a full squad, but we do have a number of question marks over three or four players, including [captain] Paul [Fenech, who was substituted in the first leg] and also Fabrizio, who trained individually during the week.
“We still have 24 hours until the match and will have our last training session after the press conference and we will observe the situation in the hours ahead of the match.”
*Kick-off on Thursday is at 8.45pm CET (7.45pm BST) and you can watch the game live in the UK on Premier Sports.
Tedesco says the support of Maltese fans, regardless of their usual club commitments, will inspire his players to an even higher level of performance.
“Definitely the 15,000 people who come and support us will be a great help, but that is not enough, because we know we are playing against a very good team so other things come into play.
“Definitely the supporters can give us a big lift and hopefully we can use their support to help us overcome our opponent on Thursday.”
Aside from the huge level of support from the stands, Tedesco is also banking on his star player Fabrizio Miccoli being fit for the second leg. The head coach revealed that the former Italy international forward, now 36, has been carrying an injury and may miss the game.
“We do have a full squad, but we do have a number of question marks over three or four players, including [captain] Paul [Fenech, who was substituted in the first leg] and also Fabrizio, who trained individually during the week.
“We still have 24 hours until the match and will have our last training session after the press conference and we will observe the situation in the hours ahead of the match.”
*Kick-off on Thursday is at 8.45pm CET (7.45pm BST) and you can watch the game live in the UK on Premier Sports.