- NK Domzale manager Luka Elsner says despite leading 2-1, his side are still underdogs
- Elsner and captain Kenan Horic are looking forward to a historic night for both Clubs
- The biggest crowd Horic has played in front of previously is 15,000
Ahead of the first ever West Ham United game at London Stadium, Slovenian opponents NK Domzale held their pre-match press conference.
Holding a 2-1 victory from the first leg last Thursday, Manager Luka Elsner, and captain Kenan Horic fielded questions on what promises to be a special night for both clubs.
Here’s what they had to say…
You’ve had a look round the stadium, what do you make of it?
Luka Elsner: “It’s a fantastic place to play football and we know it’ll be a fantastic environment to play football. What we want to do is focus on the grass and maybe eliminate what’s happening outside the pitch. That’ll be our goal for the 90 minutes.
“Every time you see a place like this, you know why you play football.”
As a player, how exciting is the opportunity to play in front of so many fans?
Kenan Horic: “Of course, it is very exciting, it will be fabulous to play in front of this crowd, they are fantastic fans. This will be the biggest crowd I’ve played infront of, before the biggest was maybe 15,000.”
You’re 2-1 up going into tomorrow’s game, a good position to be in, how confident are you about your chances?
LE: “We still know how hard it’ll be, we are definitely still underdogs. But we played well in the first game, so our hopes are a little bit up. This game will be harder because West Ham will be a little bit more prepared. That surpise element won’t be there anymore. What we want to do is play without any regrets. If we play like we did in the first leg, then maybe we’ll have a few chances, and we might hurt them.
“We are competitors, and of course we would like to go through. We’ll need some of luck, if it comes, we will take it.”
Is there any one player in particular that you have to especially plan for?
LE: “The whole team has so much quality it is hard to pick just one player. Of course each player has great individual quality, tactically they are very good. They shorten the space you’d like to play in. Then they have players like Feghouli who can make something happen from nothing. Andy Carroll gives them another option upfront. All over the pitch they have options.”
You’re good friends with Hugo Lloris, have you been in touch with him about the game, has he given any tips or advice?
LE: “Yes, we are actually meeting up later tonight for a quick hello, and we may discuss some tips about the game.”
As you’re 2-1 up from the first game, do you see yourselves as slight favourites?
LE: “Completely no, it wouldn’t be logical. We can’t argue that we are favourites. Before the game, everyone said we had 0% chance, now maybe we have 20% chance, something like that. But the favourites are definitely on the other side of the pitch. Saying that, this is football and surprised can happen, we want to be that special story. We don’t want it to be an accident, we want to say that we played well twice and deserved to win.”