KEITH LONG insisted there is no ceiling on how far this Bohemians team can go — as he said they must be brave against PAOK next week.
The Gypsies take a 2-1 lead to Thessaloniki next week after Tuesday night’s famous Europa Conference League win over the Greek giants.
It was one of the greatest one-off results ever by a League of Ireland side given the resources of PAOK, who fielded ten internationals and have a budget 100 times bigger than Bohemians.
But now Bohs want to finish the job.
Long said: “We’ll have to go and perform to the level we’re capable of. We’re going to need the boys not to be fazed.
“That is something that has sometimes where we’ve let ourselves (the League of Ireland) down.
GREECE IS THE WORD
“Dundalk have set the tone for teams in Europe when you look at how brave they’ve been, and played their own game.
“We will have to go there and be brave, trust the quality we have in the group and trust our way of playing.
“We’ll need to be better over there, in a white hot environment.”
Long pointed out that three of his players — Andy Lyons, Ross Tierney and Dawson Devoy — have played PAOK before in the 2019 UEFA Youth League.
But that visit to the 30,000 capacity Toumba Stadium — one of most hostile in Europe — was different then when there were around 2,000 in attendance.
Next Thursday, a large crowd is expected with Greek football welcoming back fans for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
And Long is under no illusions about the task at hand.
But he also believes that his side have shown no one should put a limit on what they can achieve.
He said: “Nights like Tuesday raise the bar again. You’re always a bit unsure until you cross the white line and see the whites of the eyes of the opposition.
“But I think the boys have embraced it. They’ve shown no fear, they’ve absolutely taken it head on.
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“They’ve shown everybody they’re a capable group. There is no point in getting too carried away — we’ve won a game and we’re very much in the tie going to Thessaloniki.
“We’ll have to go to the well, we’ll have to dig deep and give a performance.
“But in terms of the ceiling of this team, we don’t want to put limits on them, or their ambition.
“We’ve stood by our principles.
“Let’s see where that takes us.”
YOUNG GUNS
The Gypsies have done it with a young team — just two players are over 25 — of players either homegrown or released by others.
But their form last year as they finished second in the league and this season as they have seen off Stjarnan of Iceland and Dudelange of Luxembourg, as well as the PAOK win has bigger clubs hovering.
Long added: “You would like to think that the club can be very competitive in terms of retaining players and attracting players and I suppose growing on and off the pitch.
“Hopefully we can continue to retain the players that we have.
KEEPING HOLD OF THE BOHS
“Obviously, it’s going to be difficult for one or two because if they keep performing the way they are, they are going to come to the attention of bigger clubs in different countries.
“That’s the nature of the game, it’s the same for every team really. But there is no doubt that we want to try and secure our best players to keep them at the club.”
He revealed that some deals are close to being done though said the busy schedule has meant all focus is on the games at the moment.
And that includes this Saturday’s trip to the RSC to face Waterford, as Bohs look to secure a top three spot to ensure they are back in Europe next term.
“Hopefully nights like Tuesday give the boys confidence that we’re going in the right direction.
“If we continue to go in this path we can be successful.
“But it’s so important that we get ready for Waterford now because nights like Tuesday don’t happen unless we look after the business of our league campaign.”