If victorious, AIK would have secured a top three place, and a place in Europe. But it was 0-1 against IFK Norrköping and now everything will be decided in the last round.
After the final whistle in Norrköping, AIK’s coach Mikkjal Thomassen was asked what it would be like to face a Halmstad team that has everything to play for, while Djurgården (which is one point behind) faces Norrköping, which has nothing to play for.
Does it feel like you have the pressure on you?
– I absolutely understand the question, but I completely disagree. It’s a match where we have everything in our own hands. Even though we lost against Norrköping, we are in a great position, and a few weeks ago we would have done everything to be in this situation. We will not angle this in any negative way. We are very happy with the situation we are in, he says.
Anton Salétros was missing against IFK Norrköping. But the plan is for him to be able to play against Halmstad.
– We think he can play in the last round.. he was sick for almost two weeks and came back and played the match. And he has a small sensation, rupture or what is it called in Swedish? We had a plan and hoped he could play against Norrköping, but the day before we made the decision not to play him, says Thomassen.
One who misses the meeting with Halmstad is Sotirios Papagiannopoulos. The centre-back was missing against IFK Göteborg with an “upper body injury”, announced “Gnaget”. Also against Elfsborg, the 34-year-old was absent and that time the reason was “lower body injury”. He was also not present against IFK Norrköping and now Mikkjal Thomassen says this:
– He will not play against Halmstad. He has an injury that requires more time. We aim to have him back when we start up next season. He has developed inflammation in his “lower body”, he says.
