Lemonis - We must show passion

Greek champions in confident mood before Chelsea clash

By Chris Burton   Last updated: 18th February 2008

panagiotis lemonis olympiacos

Lemonis: Aware of what is required

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Olympiakos coach Panagiotis Lemonis has warned his side that they cannot afford to make any mistakes against Chelsea.

The Greek champions entertain the Blues on Tuesday night in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League last 16 tie.

Olympiakos qualified comfortably for this stage of the competition from a group containing Real Madrid, Werder Bremen and Lazio, so have already proved that they are no pushovers.

Despite their impressive progress so far they will go into the game against Chelsea as underdogs, but their coach feels that as long as they keep things tight at the back then they have enough quality within their squad to trouble Avram Grant's side.

Determination

"Chelsea are not the most spectacular team in Europe, if the truth be told," Lemonis said.

"They are very compact, excellent in defence, and lethal in attack. In games like these, you have to keep errors down to a minimum.

"Our chances will depend on how we play defensively, just like in our previous matches in the competition. Chelsea are the favourites, of course, but we are determined to put up a fight.

"The only thing that bothers me is when I see my players lacking passion, strength or determination on the pitch.

"My only demand for the games against Chelsea is to be proud of our performances afterwards. We are waiting impatiently to see how the coming weeks unfold."

LuaLua

The Olympiakos squad for the game is likely to include Lomana LuaLua, a striker who has plenty of prior experience of facing Chelsea following spells in England with Newcastle and Portsmouth.

He also credits Grant with saving his career following a difficult period in his life which saw him lose his newborn son and get arrested for a domestic disturbance involving a former partner.

Grant was director of football at Portsmouth at the time and LuaLua admits that he was ready to walk away from the game altogether before sitting down with the Israeli coach.

Retire

"Avram is a top man and was a good friend to me," he said.

"I was having a bad time coming to terms with the death of my baby son and had fallen out of love with football. It did go through my mind to retire.

"I spoke to Avram a lot and he told me to keep smiling and things would work out for me."