Ludogorets head coach Rui Mota spoke ahead of the decisive second leg against Shkendija in the UEFA Europa League play-off round. After losing the first match 1–2 in Skopje, the "Eagles" now need a must-win result at home to secure a place in the group stage of Europe’s second-tier club competition.
The Portuguese manager expects his players to deliver a much stronger performance compared to last week's match and confirmed that he still won’t be able to count on injured players Kwadwo Duah, Aguibou Camara, and Joel Andersson.
“We expect to do much more compared to the first game. We’ve already analyzed everything with the players and the staff. We know what we need to change and hope to put that into action tomorrow,” Mota said. “Unfortunately, Kwadwo Duah, Aguibou Camara, and Joel Andersson are still recovering.
We'll go into tomorrow’s match as if we already lost it. From the first minute, our mindset will be to win. That’s the mentality the boys have.
I hope the first-leg result was just a one-off.”
He also commented on the team's recent congested schedule:
“We had the option to postpone only one match. That was our joker card, and we chose to use it now. Playing every 3–4 days is extremely tough in terms of recovery.”
Caio Vidal also spoke at the pre-match press conference:
“We believe we can put in a better performance at our home stadium. We hope to walk away with a good result – and that means a win,” said Vidal.
“I was very ill and that’s why I couldn’t play in the first leg. I hope to have a great game tomorrow and help my team.”
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