FCSB Head Coach Nicolae Dică admits his team could be in for a difficult night when they travel to east London to face West Ham on Thursday night.
The Romanians finished second in Liga 1 last season, losing the title to CFR Cluj by just one point but have struggled to recapture that form this season.With just one win and four draws from their opening seven fixtures of the current campaign FCSB go into their opening clash in Group B of the Conference League 13th in the table.
In their most recent outing, on 31 August they went down 3-1 at Farul - their second reversal of the season. And speaking during his pre-match presser, Dică acknowledged that his team have to somehow recapture their form if they are to make it difficult for West Ham.
"First of all, I'm happy that we've reached the Conference League groups and that we're meeting a team of West Ham's calibre," he began. "That should be a pride for us.
"Now, let me talk about our opponents. I think you also know them very well, you know what transfers they made and how much money they invested this summer.
"It is clear it will be a very difficult game. We have to be prepared both defensively and offensively but especially defensively, as we have to make as few mistakes as possible. Though I believe we will have a good game.
"It is clear that we've conceded too many goals," he continued, referencing FCSB's current form in Liga 1. "It doesn't suit me either. Last term we conceded 15 or 17 goals in the whole championship, now we've already conceded 12. It's not good.
"I hope we can sort these things out on the fly and our opponents will stop creating opportunities for themselves - then we can score a goal on a half chance!
"You probably expect us to concede a lot of goals, but I have faith that the boys will get a good result.
"I am proud to be able to coach in Europe again, it is a joy to be able to coach the team in a match against West Ham in front of 60,000 spectators. What more could a coach want?"
FCSB winger Florinel Coman, who was also presented to the media backed his manager's view. "It'll be a tough match against a team from the strongest [league] championship," he added.
"But we didn't come here for a vacation, we came to play a good match and we hope for a positive result - because we can do it.
"There is pressure but we hope it will be a positive one. It will be a beautiful match in a wonderful stadium. Everything depends on us, but I think we will be successful and get a good result.
"We are not afraid of their strength, we don't even think about it. Although it [Group B] is a tough group, we'll enjoy it. This is how we see our worth. We play strong teams, we want to play good football and show what we are capable of.
"Ok, those [players] from West Ham are more highly-rated, they play in the Premier League - but that doesn't mean the result is resolved. We thank the fans for coming and we hope not to disappoint them on Thursday evening."
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