David Moyes and his West Ham United team believe the comeback is still possible.
The Hammers find themselves 2-0 down to newly-crowned Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen at the mid-point of our UEFA Europa League quarter-final tie and are underdogs to book a semi-final against AS Roma or AC Milan.
But Moyes remains steadfast in his view that the Irons can overcome those odds to become the first side – in 44 attempts – to defeat the German outfit this season and keep our European dream alive.
Last week’s first running of the tie was goalless until the final seven minutes, as West Ham scrapped to keep themselves in the contest before it headed across the Channel, and now the boss says they will be inspired by the prospect of another magical night under the London Stadium lights.
When you’re getting words like quarter-finals, semi-finals, it’s exciting.
Obviously the final is what you want to get to, and win it, but you have to go through the process to get there.
It will be a difficult, difficult game, but one we’ve got belief that we can find a way to try and make it.
Normally it’s towards the end of the season that the biggest games come.
If you’re playing big games at the end of the season it means you’ve been relatively successful because you’ve got to play good teams [to keep progressing].
It was a huge game for us at Leverkusen last week and we’ve got another big game on Thursday evening.
I still believe that you’re playing against one of the best teams in Europe at this moment in time.
Certainly a team who will be in the UEFA Champions League next year and look as if they would be quite comfortable in that company.
Especially when you look at the way Borussia Dortmund performed on Tuesday, and how Bayern Munich performed [in the first leg of their tie against Arsenal], and Leverkusen are above them both in the league.
I think we should give them respect. We’ll do our best on Thursday night to not give them too much, but ultimately they deserve the respect because of the results.
You have to say we went to Leverkusen and it got to the 83rd minute before they scored the first goal.
It might take us that long before we can do it, but we have to have that patience and that level of trying to find a way of winning the game, or certainly getting a couple of goals in front at the end of 90 minutes.
We’ll try to do it, we’ll do everything we can, but we have to be mindful of how we do it and not be over-exposed.
We did a job at Leverkusen for long periods, but obviously we couldn’t quite see it through.
In the European games, quite often substitutes make the difference, or somebody scores a goal that can change the game completely.
I think Pablo Fornals came on as a substitute at AZ Alkmaar last year and scored the goal which made the tie safe and got us to the final.
It can happen and you never know who that could be.
As a manager you have to accept that your job [always brings pressure].
I enjoy my job, the season so far has been great. We’ve had lots of ups, there have been downs as well, but in the main it has been really positive.
