Rafa Benítez, SSC Napoli head coach, is aware of the challenging game they face tomorrow in Turkey. His past European experience has shown him the kind of atmosphere his team will face tomorrow in Trebison, where they will play Trabzonspor in the knock out stages of the UEFA Europa League last sixteen. In their usual pre-match press conference today the Spanish coach was optimistic but also highlighted the possible dangers the Neapolitan team will face, he also stated what he believes to be the key factors for achieving a possible victory: "It is very important that we get a good result tomorrow, above all to ensure classification in our own stadium 'San Paolo'".

"At this point of the competition, each game of the 'Europa League' becomes a difficult challenge and of great importance I would say, because now all the qualifiers we face are direct crossings where only one of the two contenders will go through”, admitted the head of the Neapolitan bench, who soon after declared that: "I know Trabzonspor very well, this is a team that plays with great intensity and a squad of proven quality. Among them, I know Medjani very well from our time at Liverpool. I think he is an exceptional player who will certainly try to do his best. Not just him, but also their whole team. We know that their players are very motivated and we must be just as prepared as they are, with the same level of concentration. The group wants to react after our defeat against Palermo last weekend and now we have to channel that anger into positive energy on the pitch. If we can do so, it will work in our favour, helping us in difficult moments".

Precisely on that last match played against Palermo, where SSC Napoli lost by three goals to one, Benítez wanted to point out that: "right after the game I was quite angry, because the truth is we did not play a good game and we have to accept it as such. But having said that, I also have to add that I did see positive aspects in the game. The team is doing well overall, we are approaching optimum form and I sincerely believe that we can continue in the good direction we were heading straightaway. Let's see if we can tomorrow, although we know it's not easy".

In addition to the above statements, the 'azzurro' coach also answered some other questions from the media in the press room of the 'Hüseyin Avni Aker' stadium in Trebizond

Rafa, have you already decided who will play in goal tomorrow?

"Yes, I can say that this time it will be Mariano Andújar. We believe that he needs minutes to continue gaining confidence and as he already played in the game against Slovan Bratislava in the previous round we had already planned for him to play tomorrow some time ago. That is the line we take with our goalkeepers. I have complete confidence in all my goalkeepers and I think that being able to switch from one to the other depending on the circumstances and needs of the team is one of our main strengths in this respect".

Have you thought about doing other rotations in the initial lineup tomorrow?

"Yes I think so, we will do whatever changes we consider appropriate and convenient because we need each and every one of the players in their best possible form for what is left of the season. And remember that we are in three competitions and we want to face them all with the best chance of success possible. We still have time to think about it and we will decide tomorrow. That said, it is possible that Henrique will play in defence, and Higuaín will play because he won´t next Monday against Sassuolo as he is suspended. If there are any other changes we will decide just before the game".

But Inler will also return to the starting lineup….

"Yes, of course. Gokhan (Inler) is a great player and it shows, here in Turkey, for example, he is also an undisputed star. Although we have several alternatives in midfield, I certainly believe that with Inler we can control the midfield in a game like tomorrow".

Do you think that Napoli will be able to qualify and even end up winning the UEFA Europa League?

"I have been fortunate enough in my career to have gained a great deal of experience in the various European competitions. What we really need to do is think from 'game to game´, we know that it is a long and complicated road and we cannot speculate on the final yet. We cannot foretell these things, it is random and depends on multiple factors. What is true however, is that winning brings confidence and greatly helps the intention to keep growing. I have won both the UEFA Europa League on two occasions and the 'Champions League' and I think the trick is to focus only on the next game, on the closest challenge without attaching importance to anything else. And if we get through this round, we know that we could even face one of the teams coming from the UEFA Champions League group stage which will be another difficult challenge. But beyond all these issues, what we have to do is focus on tomorrow and try to take home a positive result. That's what we're going to try to achieve, we are absolutely focused on this".