Oliver Glasner and Djibril Sow on...
...preparations for the game:
Oliver Glasner: “We’ve been intensively focusing on West Ham over the past couple of days, and have worked on a couple of tactical things in training. Apart from Evan Ndicka and Kristijan Jakic, who are suspended, every registered player is available. The team’s in good shape. We have a lot of respect for West Ham, but we’re going into the game with a lot of confidence.”
Djibril Sow: “I’m hugely looking forward to it. It hurt that I could only watch the last couple of games. That’s why I’m happy to be back in time and can be involved now.”
...West Ham:
Glasner: “West Ham have established themselves in the top third of the Premier League in the last few years. They’re doing really well. The Premier League is as good as it gets in European football. It’s nice to be able to test yourself against the best. Like us, West Ham deserve to be among the last four. It’ll be a tough contest.”
It’ll be a tough game but we’re looking forward to the challenge.
Head coach Oliver Glasner
...West Ham’s playing style:
Glasner: “West Ham are not dissimilar to us in terms of their approach. Overall, they’re very compact and have already kept six clean sheets in the Europa League this season. We’ll need to be clinical. We have to produce our best performance and, as usual, we’ll be playing to win in the first leg. West Ham are very compact. They’re very strong physically, and like to get the ball up front quickly. They’re also very dangerous at set pieces. It’ll be a tough game but we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
...the significance of the semi-final:
Glasner: “The biggest motivation is that we’re in the semi-final of a European competition. That’s something extraordinary for a coach, a player and for a club. We can feel how special it is.”
What you have that belief, coupled with the sense of anticipation you can feel throughout the whole team, then you can achieve big things.
Djibril Sow
Sow: “You play football for matches like this. You can sense a certain special tension even days before the game. You don’t need any extra motivation. We’ve got a big opportunity to achieve something unbelievable this year.”
...belief:
Sow: “From the first match onwards we always believed we could achieve something in this competition. What you have that belief, coupled with the sense of anticipation you can feel throughout the whole team, then you can achieve big things.”
