Donis: System is Irrelevant

Speaking at a press conference prior to the league’s third round this weekend, the AEK manager admitted that his side weren’t playing an attractive brand of football but also maintained that a change in system was not necessarily the solution.

“It is clear that we aren’t playing attractive football,” Donis said, according to AEK’s official website.

“No system will give you peace with the ball at your feet.

“On the pitch at the moment, there is a very competitive team, the players are showing great passion on the pitch, by fighting until the last second.

“They are giving everything they’ve got on the pitch, which is an important element of the team that had been established very early on.”

Despite claims that his side are better suited to a 4-4-2 diamond formation, the former Greece international suggested that individual player improvements are more important than fundamental tactical changes.

“No system, whether it be 4-4-2 or 4-3-3, will give you calm on the ball or better choices,” he said.

“What we need to improve is each individual player. There are players who have quality, there are other players who have other elements to their game, who may be more dynamic but don’t have calmness or the ability to pass well under pressure.

“All of those things need to be determined on the training pitch, so that we can improve each player individually.

“Only then can we have great improvement from the team as a whole.”

BASINAS SITUATION

Donis also took a moment to comment on speculation that AEK midfielder and Euro 2004-winner Angelos Basinas was about to retire from the international arena, after the 32 year-old was surprisingly left out of Otto Rehhagel’s starting line-up during last week’s World Cup Qualifier against Latvia.

“I haven’t spoken about it with Angelos.

“He’s an experience footballer, a very thoughtful man and in this situation – which I don’t think exists, as he hasn’t spoken to myself or any of his team-mates about it – I think he will be mature and make the right decision.”

He added: “My personal opinion is that Angelos can be a key member of the national team for years to come.”

PHILOSOPHY

The manager stressed the importance of this weekend’s match against Iraklis, an encounter that AEK lost at the OAKA Spiros Louis last season, arguably a result that dealt a massive blow to their title aspirations.

“The championship isn’t decided by derbies but by these matches,” he said.

“We want to play well and win so that we can show we’ve made progress.”

Despite the difficulties experienced at the beginning of his tenure at AEK, Donis said he was delighted with his relationship with the club both on and off the pitch.

“When I decided to come to AEK I didn’t expect my co-operation with the club’s administration to be this good.

“I am delighted with the conditions of the team and the co-operation that exists within it.

The former Blackburn Rovers player highlighted the implementation of his own playing philosophy on the team as one of his biggest challenges.

“There are many issues that need to be dealt with in order to create a side and above all, to impose your own philosophy on the pitch.

“You see it in Europe, that when there is a change in coaches and they attempt to change their philosophies and their style of game, they could have a huge budget and a number of great players at their disposal, and still not get what coach wants out on the pitch.”
 
Chris Paraskevas