Feyenoord boss Slot focused on overcoming Shakhtar test

Feyenoord manager Arne Slot is not underestimating the challenge posed by Shakhtar Donetsk ahead of tonight’s Europa League meeting.

The Eredivisie leaders will travel to Warsaw to play the first leg of their last-16 tie due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Shakhtar finished third in their Champions League group before overcoming French side Rennes on penalties in the knockout round play-offs.

And Slot — recently touted as a possible replacement for Jesse Marsch at Leeds — is fully focused on the difficult task at hand.

The 44-year-old Dutchman said: "It is a very special situation.

"Of course you also follow the war in the Netherlands, but the distance remains great. 

"Now that you're here and you see Ukrainian people and you imagine their families might be involved in the war, it's hard to realise that."

Unique challenge

Slot has guided Feyenoord into the last 16 after they qualified from an incredibly close Group F on goal difference.

The Rotterdam outfit are three points clear at the head of the Dutch top flight and have a KNVB Cup semi-final with Ajax next month.

But Slot knows his team cannot be distracted by domestic exploits with Shakhtar possessing extra motivation to succeed.

He added: "Shakhtar's team consists of many Ukrainian boys, who may want to give even more of themselves because they play for a greater goal than just reaching the quarter-finals.

"In the [Champions League] group stage they took six points, drew against Real Madrid and only lost twice. 

"And that for a team that has lost many foreign boys and has undergone a metamorphosis. 

"I am impressed, both by their understanding of the game and by the intensity with which they play. 

"We will have to be incredibly good on Thursday to bring a result to Rotterdam."