QUEEN of the South manager Gordon Chisholm has urged his men to believe they can overturn their Uefa Cup deficit against Danish side Nordsjaelland in Denmark this evening.
Queens lost 2-1 in the home leg at Airdrie's New Broomfield Stadium after conceding two soft goals, the first in the second minute. But Chisholm has become more optimistic after studying the game again on television.
He feels his players will be
more confident after realising they can compete with the Danish Superliga side following the leap into the unknown for the first leg.
Chisholm said: "I think they might have a wee bit more belief.
"I was saying we are capable of beating them. They have played against them and I felt we deserved something, so hopefully they are thinking in the same vein now, and I will say it to them again before the game.
"We pushed them back second half. I watched the game again and for the first 25 minutes we were the better team.
"We picked up second balls, we played well, the only thing we did was lose two bad goals.
"Apart from that we played some good stuff, we were up on top of the game, we kept possession, we created chances.
"On the night we were really disappointed, but we have had a couple of weeks since the game and we are going out positive.
"It's going to be difficult after losing two goals at home. But we will go out and give our best.
"I don't think the game is over, it's half-time and it's 2-1. I've never seen a game of football dead yet at that scoreline at half-time. We have 90 minutes to get back into it."
Queens looked threatening in the air against Morten Wieghorst's side at Airdrie and got their goal when Sean O'Connor headed home a free-kick.
O'Connor and Jim Thomson also came close from headers and Chisholm wants his men to take advantage of set-pieces.
The former Dundee United manager said: "I don't think they are particularly weak in the air, I just think we are probably a bit more aggressive in the way we attack the ball, but there has got to be good quality balls put in.
"Set plays are a big part of the game now and I think it's going to be important tomorrow."
Chisholm will not risk wide midfielder Gary Arbuckle after he tweaked a hamstring in the 2-0 victory over Dunfermline in the Alba Challenge Cup last midweek, but he otherwise has a full squad.
• Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg, Rangers' Uefa Cup final conquerors, have signed Portuguese midfielder Danny from Dinamo Moscow for a national record fee of $30 million (£16 million).
Dick Advocaat's club smashed the previous Russian record of $16 million, set in 2005 when buying Maniche from FC Porto, after Dinamo rejected their initial bid.
Danny scored 17 goals in 97 matches over three years with Dinamo. He made his international debut as a 55th-minute substitute in last week's friendly against the Faroe Islands.
The full article contains 525 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
