S. Vrvenas: 'This could be a unique moment for the "Panevėžys" club'

2024-08-22 15:28 © FK Panevėžys

The Panevėžys football club held a pre-match training session on Wednesday at the LFF Stadium, after which the coach Stijn Vreven shared his thoughts with representatives of the media.

Describing their opponent in the knockout stage of the Conference League qualifiers – the Oswestry "The New Saints" club – the Belgian highlighted the importance of the match for every player as well as for himself.

"This is a special moment for the club; it could be a unique moment, as the Panevėžys club has the chance to reach the group stage of the Conference League for the first time, which is a big deal. We have the opportunity to create history, and I told the players that they can become a part of that history for the rest of their lives. It’s a significant moment, but we shouldn't be too worried; this is football – you can win, lose, or draw, but we know this is a big deal and as a player or coach, you don't get to the group stage of the Conference League every year," Vreven said.

We see who could be our opponents there – Chelsea, Fiorentina, we are talking about big clubs, so achieving that would be fantastic. We are looking forward to two tough matches against the Welsh opponent. We know that they play with a lot of desire, with big hearts, and can also play good football. It won't be easy, but nothing is impossible; it all depends on us. We have to focus on ourselves, play two perfect matches with and without the ball. As a coach, I am looking forward to such matches to prove why we work hard to achieve such goals. I am also excited to be part of Thursday's match. We are confident that we can advance to the next stage," Vreven reviewed the upcoming match for the fk-panevezys.lt website.

The head coach of the team from the capital of Aukštaitija also answered the question of whether his squad might feel added excitement before such an important match.

"It's always hard to say whether the players feel more excitement. We talked about this yesterday – we don't have that many players who show their big emotions. As a coach, it's quite difficult to gauge how they feel, whether they're too excited, relaxed, or in bad form; it's always hard to tell. We talked about the fact that this is just football. The most important thing at this moment in their lives is to play such matches, which is why we are football players and coaches, to achieve goals, and this is a unique goal that we can reach," said Vreven. "Should we be a little excited? Yes, because a little excitement is not bad; if it’s too much, then it's a problem. As I said, this is football; it has something beautiful, and we need to show a lot of enthusiasm, spirit, and desire to reach the next stage. I hope these will be the things that excite us more, raise our enthusiasm, and we will show it on the pitch."

The first meeting between the champions of Lithuania and Wales will take place on August 23, Thursday. The match at the LFF Stadium will start at 7:30 PM and will be broadcast live on DELFI TV.