Revenge not the word for Greece as Ivan Jovanovic claims supremacy over Scotland

Greece head coach Ivan Jovanovic retains belief that his side are better than Scotland but is not motivated by revenge in Saturday’s World Cup qualifier.

The Greeks saw their qualification hopes end last month following three consecutive defeats, with a 3-1 loss at Hampden sandwiched by games against Group C leaders Denmark.

That leaves them trying to play the role of spoilers in Piraeus as Scotland seek the point they will almost certainly need to retain a chance of leapfrogging Denmark and qualifying automatically.

Greece dominated for more than an hour at Hampden before conceding two goals from set-pieces and a late third following a goalkeeping error.

It was a reversal of fortunes from the Nations League play-offs in March when Greece overturned a one-goal deficit from the first leg to win 3-0 at Hampden.

Jovanovic admits his team need to be more decisive in key moments but when asked whether he believed Greece or Scotland were the better team over the course of the three matches, he said instantly with a smile: “Greece. I don’t think there’s any doubt that all of the matches have been entertaining.

“I always have respect for Scotland, they are a very good team with very good players but I believe we have been very good and competitive in each game.

“Sometimes it’s the details that make the difference overall.

“Certainly Scotland have more motivation in what’s at stake but Greece have their own motivation in terms of playing in front of our own supporters. I don’t really see football in terms of revenge.”

Jovanovic has seen his position come under scrutiny 18 months into his reign amid reports that his employers approached former Juventus head coach Thiago Motta in the wake of the World Cup failure.

The Serbian said: “Of the four games, there has only been one where we did not reach the levels we feel we are capable of.

“The details were not on our side and we conceded goals we are not used to conceding. But our belief remains high.”

Jovanovic did signal that he could experiment over the two games against Scotland and Belarus.

“It’s something we are looking at, to expand the pool of players available to us, especially with the Nations League format,” he said. “We will have four games in two weeks so we will need to have more options available.”

Longer term, that could be good news for uncapped Hearts winger Alexandros Kyziridis, who has scored five goals since moving to Scotland in the summer and has four William Hill Premiership assists for the leaders.

Jovanovic, whose son Nikola studied business management at Heriot Watt University, said: “Kyziridis is having a good season and we are watching him and we are watching Hearts like other clubs in Scotland.

“I do watch Scottish football. I actually really like the Scots as a people. My son was in Edinburgh for a few years and I visited him regularly, and I found the Scots a warm people.”