Zoltan Gera admits he was initially disappointed to see Fulham paired with Shakhtar Donetsk in the Europa League, but the Hungarian is now urging his team-mates to beat the defending champions and earn the tie he really wants against Ajax or Juventus.
Did my shoulders slump when I heard? Yeah, a little bit. But if you want to win the competition, then you are bound to face really good teams now.
There is the prospect of Juventus to come later, and I would really like that.
I think that the idea of the possible teams in the next round will help the team. They might want it even more now! How often does a team from England get to play one of Europe greats?
I think it will be a carrot to dangle in front of the boys, but there’s no doubt we’ll have to maintain the levels we showed in beating Liverpool and Manchester United to match Shakhtar. We’ve got to be looking at a two goal lead from the first leg IMO.