New Olympiakos coach Srecko Katanec refused to criticise his side following their humiliating exit from European competition at the hands of Maccabi Haifa.
His side fought back from a two-goal deficit at half time to earn a 3-3 draw.
The coach, who was in charge of the Greek side for the first time in Europe, said: “I have known my players for a short while and I’m in no position to criticise them. But I did notice we lacked both discipline and pace.”
Meanwhile his opposite number Yitzhak Schum was impressed with the progress his side had made in the Champions League this season and hoped it would continue in the UEFA Cup.
“My players deserve all the credit for scoring 12 goals in the group stages which is phenomenal,’ said Schum.
Indeed, this just increases our disappointment at failing to qualify for the second phase as our performance against Leverkeusen should have earned us three points.’
