Gannon deflects jibes, concentrates on football

Steaua Bucharest president Gigi Becali has thrown down the gauntlet to Motherwell coach Jim Gannon ahead of their Europa League clash on Thursday evening.

“Motherwell don’t stand a chance in front of Steaua,” Becali told reporters on Tuesday. “We will go through without trouble. I don’t know any of their players and they are not a team we should be afraid of.”

The Scots are on a high following their 8-1 annihilation of Flamurtari last week, and Gannon was quick to dismiss Becali’s talk of an easy win for the home side in Bucharest.

“I think we seen that with statements from Flamurtari in the last round,” he responded. “I’d like to think we’ve always been respectful and professional and give due respect to the opposition team and their country.”

Gannon avoided getting involved in a war of words with Becali by focusing on the task at hand for his young team.

“Perhaps it has been taken out of context but they will be confident and there will be expectations of Steaua against us. However, we will go there and be professional and hopefully surprise people with the quality that we show.”