Gus Poyet has hailed Evan Ferguson as a ‘special player’ and believes he is the biggest threat to Greece tomorrow.
Poyet is a former Brighton manager but was in charge from 2009 to 2013 and Ferguson was only a five-year-old when he took over.
But the Uruguayan has been highly impressed by the impact the teenager has made on the Premier League this season.
READ MORE: Ireland v Greece still on despite three days of National mourning for boat tragedy
“He is at the right club for sure and I think it is a great step,” said the Greece boss.
“I always say that when a player is able to perform at the level he has in the Premier League at his age, then he is a special player.
“Normally when you are at a club you see potential in certain players and you are thinking about putting him in.
“But you are always worried as a coach whether he is going to be able to deal with the power and the intensity and he has been incredible.
“When Robero De Zerbi is playing him week in week out when he is fit, he has shown that he can do it.
“There will be a little bit of work for our defenders and we will have to pay plenty of attention to him.”
Poyet is also expecting a different approach from Ireland in this game compared to their performance against France in March.
Ireland had to tailor their gameplan to contain the World Cup finalists but nearly nicked a draw at the death through Nathan Collins.
“Playing against France is always dangerous. You need to take into consideration the quality of the opposition and the speed and the spaces that you can leave.
“I also watched Ireland’s previous four or five games and I know if they are to have a chance to qualify in this difficult group, you have to play in a different way.
“So we are expecting a very aggressive – but aggressive in a good way – competitive team, probably pressing a little bit higher like they did at home against Latvia.
“That’s why we’re expecting a different kind of approach from the team because they need to go for the win like us. It’s a key game for both.”
But having won their Nations League group, Greece already have a Euro 2024 playoff spot in the back pocket no matter what happens in this qualifying group.
And Poyet admits that allows Greece to take more risks in games than they might ordinarily do.
He added: “The reality for both of us is if we don’t win it’s going to be very difficult to be able to finish second. So it’s a must-win for both of us.
“That brings a special situation for the game so early in the group unless you go and beat France and Holland.
“We have a back-up and the possibility of [qualifying] another way and the freedom to play a little more like:
“There’s no drama if you lose the game because we have another opportunity but we’ll play every game to win.”
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