New York City Football Club Head Coach believes his side can advance from their Concacaf Champions League semifinal on Wednesday if they attack the situation.
The Boys in Blue find themselves 3-1 down from the first leg at Lumen Field, and will entertain Seattle on Wednesday knowing at a minimum a 2-0 home win will see them advance to the final of the competition. Speaking ahead of the game, Deila reaffirmed his belief in the group and outlined what his team must do to succeed.
“We have been home for a week now,” he said. “We have been training well, we’ve had a couple of days, we’ve been together with our families. I can see a totally different expression in their faces and my own face as well. Maybe I’m not as handsome as when I was 19-years-old, but still better than I was a week ago. I think it’s about energy. It's about belief. It's about attacking the situation and we have won many home games with more than two goals and I really believe that we can do that tomorrow. So it's about being organized. It's about being on the front foot and belief and attacking the situation. We know that we have a lot of quality.”
Although Deila was keen for his side to start the game in the right manner, he also stressed the need to understand the occasion. Citing a need for patience, Deila explained he felt his team could offer more than during the first leg last week.
“It’s a semifinal in Champions League and the best teams are meeting,” he said. “The first leg was a really good football match. We met a really good team and we were good in parts of the game. At the same time, I know we can do more and that makes me excited about the game tomorrow. At the same time, as I said to the players as well, two goals can be scored in one minute. It’s about being patient and at the same time being on the front foot, being organized in what you're doing and having the belief and the calmness in this situation.
“Of course the fans will be important for us now to come home. We have sold a good amount of tickets and that's going to be important to get them behind us and really push on to get the goals we want because this is something that's really possible.”
