Jol turns focus to Ajax’s Euro ambitions

Barely a week after being denied a move to Fulham, Ajax coach Martin Jol must prepare his team to face Greek side PAOK Salonika in the Champions League third qualifying round tomorrow.

Jol guided four-time European champions Ajax to a second-place finish behind FC Twente in the Dutch Eredivisie last season but grew frustrated this summer at what he saw as the club’s reluctance to hold on to their best players.

It was in this state of mind that he reacted favourably to the approach from Fulham, but having being refused permission to leave the Amsterdam Arena he has vowed to put the matter behind him.

“It took a long time, which was probably not good for this club, because it’s a big club with one and a half million fans in Holland,” he said.

“I had to tell them (Fulham) I had to stay. All the problems, going to court, I didn’t want that, because Ajax is too big to be put through that misery.”

Jol says Ajax must take control of the tie in tomorrow’s first-leg match, as he is wary of the role the Greek club’s “fanatical fans” could play if Ajax have to travel to Thessalonika in need of a positive result.

Perhaps the most intriguing tie of the third qualifying round pitches Scottish giants Celtic against Champions League debutants Sporting Braga, who finished second to Benfica in last season’s Portuguese Liga.

Former player Neil Lennon is embarking on his first full campaign as Celtic coach and says he may opt for the counter-attacking 4-5-1 formation that he deployed in the 3-1 friendly defeat by Manchester United in Toronto on July 17.

“We’ve looked at a few variations on it. With (Marc-Antoine) Fortune, (Shaun) Maloney, (Aiden) McGeady and young Jamie Forrest we have lots of pace,” Lennon told the Daily Record.

“Fortune played the striker’s role really well against United and we had good midfield players backing him up like (Scott) Brown, Marc Crosas and (Joe) Ledley.”

Today’s matches see Ukrainian heavyweights Dynamo Kiev host Belgian outfit Gent and Romanians Unirea Urziceni tackle Zenit St Petersburg of Russia.

Welsh minnows The New Saints’ reward for upsetting Irish champions Bohemians in the second qualifying round is a lucrative date with Belgian champions Anderlecht.

The second legs take place on August 3 and 4, with the victors qualifying for the play-off round.

Programme

Third qualifying round, first legs

PLAYING TODAY

Omonia vs Red Bull Salzburg; Dynamo Kiev vs Gent; L. Lovech vs Zilina; Unirea Urziceni vs Zenit Saint-Petersburg; S. Prague vs Lech Poznan; TNS vs Anderlecht.

TOMORROW

Bate Borisov vs Copenhagen; AIK Solna vs Rosenborg; Aktobe vs H. Tel-Aviv; Debreceni vs FC Basel; Partizan Belgrade vs HJK Helsinki; Sheriff vs Dinamo Zagreb; Ajax vs PAOK Salonika; Young Boys vs Fenerbahce; Braga vs Celtic.

Second legs: August 3 and 4.