Panathinaikos is looking to get off to a strong start in the Conference League’s League Phase when it hosts Borac Banja Luka at the OAKA on Thursday (Oct. 15, 7:45 p.m.).
Ahead of the match, Jacob Nystrup spoke at the press conference about what his team needs to do to start the competition with three points, as well as how to manage emotions following their first loss of the season to Olympiacos.
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Here is what he said in detail:
“First of all, we need to put Sunday’s game behind us; obviously, we lost a derby, and that was disappointing. We lost because the opposing team played better than we did; there are no excuses for anything else. We didn’t play up to our usual standard. Every match is very important; we’re competing in three tournaments.
You’ve seen how much we struggled in the qualifiers; we want to get off to a good start in the Conference. It’s always important to win after a loss in a derby. We want to get back to winning and get back on track; that’s what we’ll try to do tomorrow.
I’m the kind of coach who sits here after a loss. I don’t concern myself with social media and all that nonsense. We didn’t discuss anything other than the loss and our performance in the derby, while also respecting the opposing team, which was better than us. Whenever we win—which is very rare—the opposing team shows respect to Panathinaikos for the victory.
A lot is said in the world of soccer in 2026; all I can say is that I’ll do everything I can to get Panathinaikos back on the winning track. If you want to play for Panathinaikos or coach here, you hear a lot of things, and you have to prove yourself all over again tomorrow. That goes for me and for the players. Of course, there’s a limit to everything.
We need to be ourselves and get our performance back to what we’re used to. If we play well tomorrow, there’s a good chance we’ll win; if not… All the teams are here for a reason. We realize that we lost the derby not because of bad luck or a bad referee, but because we didn’t perform at our usual level. That’s what we want to fix tomorrow.
I don’t see myself as a young coach, having been a head coach for almost five years. I’m even starting to get a few gray hairs—that’s just how it is. I don’t think I’m doing anything in terms of structure or formations that the soccer world hasn’t seen before. Every coach has his own ideas and tries to adapt them to his team; that’s what I’m trying to do as well. It takes time to reach the top level, and I can say that we’re closer to it now. But even the best players and a strong team can have an off day. It’s time to show character tomorrow.
Being a coach at Panathinaikos, with all the pressure and expectations— not just of one team, but with so many fans in so many regions and with so many hopes for the future, is something that appeals to me. There are some days in soccer that hurt more than others. No top coach has ever been forced to take a job. We all know there’s pressure and there are tough days. If I couldn’t live with that, I’d get on a plane back to Denmark.”
*photo source: KYPE
