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Terim pledges to attack despite threadbare squad

20/06/2008

Fatih Terim has said Turkey will maintain their attacking ethos in Friday night's quarter-final against Croatia despite being hit by injuries.

The Turks are the underdogs for the Vienna clash and with a series of ailments and suspensions hitting the squad - including that of first-choice goalkeeper Volkan Demirel who was sent off in the group A match against Czech Republic - they face an uphill struggle against an unbeaten Croatia.

But Terim rejected calls to summon a standby player and plans to stick with the positive attitude that saw Turkey turn a 2-0 deficit against the Czechs into a stunning 3-2 win in one of the games of the tournament.

"I didn't train for penalties in the last match and I haven't talked about extra-time," he explained.

"I hope we finish everything in 90 minutes or before that. We are also ready for other options.

"We have no change in our philosophy."

Terim added: "I've always said I'm confident in the squad and will not call anyone up. This has been my stance from the beginning and there are no excuses."

While Volkan and Mehmet Aurelio are suspended, Emre Gungor, Servet Cetin, Emre Asik and Gokhan Zan are all injured.

Emre Belozoglu is struggling to overcome a niggling hamstring while Tumer Metin has a problematic groin.

But Terim, who has coached Fiorentina and AC Milan, still believes his side can pull off a shock victory.

"There have been many incredible things that have happened in this tournament and anything is possible," he declared.