Former Sunderland boss Gus Poyet says he'll use Greece's Euro 2004 win as inspiration as he looks to guide the national team back to the finals of an international tournament for the first time in eight years. The former Black Cats boss, who was linked with a sensational return to the club prior to Lee Johnson's appointment, has been speaking about his time on Wearside and comparing life as Greece boss.
The Uruguayan took over earlier this year and Greece have since won all four of their nations league fixtures. The national team won't be at the World Cup in Qatar later this year and the 54-year-old is the man tasked with taking the club to Euro 2024.
When asked about his time in England, Poyet told FourFourTwo: "I try to look at the positives. I know there are always negatives. When I left Sunderland in March 2015, my idea was to go abroad to see something different.
"I achieved the most at Brighton. We set up a style of play maybe for life for Brighton. The most recognition was at Sunderland because the Premier League is top. The two jobs that gave me the most, they were the two in England."
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Poyet was appointed Greece boss in February this year, a role which came out of the blue. He said: "To be honest, I came to Greece for a different reason - to watch a match that was cancelled because of coronavirus, so I made a few meetings with football people I know. Somebody said 'Do you know the manager of the national team is leaving?'
"That took me to another meeting, then a Zoom meeting and I suppose it was timing. More or less, I know Greek football and that helped a lot. I know most of the players."
It's not the Uruguayan's first managerial job in Greece, having managed AEK Athens between 2015 and 2016 - a job that he believes has stood him in good stead. "It's very important," Poyet added. "Massive for many reasons. The main one is to learn the mentality. If it was a brand new culture, it would b a little more difficult, it would take a few more months. I'm having this chat because the AEK Athens job worked out well.
"It's completely different - I'm getting used to it still. It's new for me. You're at one pace for a month and a half, then you get together and go from 60pmh to 200mph.
"So far, I've enjoyed it. It's always nice when you do something different - no monotony. So far, I'm pleased but, like anything in football, it will depend on results."
For Poyet, life as manager of the nation is a first, but the pressures are something new. When asked if he felt additional pressure, he said "Yes and no. Yes, when you're playing games, everybody is looking at you. But during the off months, everyone forgets about the national teams, it's about the clubs.
"When you're approaching the next game, then it comes back. The idea here is to bring the national team to the level they are expecting, because they were very good from 2004 to 2014, but haven't reach a tournament finals since. They need to get back."
Euro 2024 will mark 20 years since Greece famously won Euro 2004 - a result that shocked the world. "For me it's an inspiration," said Poyet. "That's a great feeling. For many people, it looks impossible to do something similar. But maybe before that it was the same. They did something special."
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