Jens Keller: 'Schalke 04 can cope with pressure'

Schalke 04 coach Jens Keller has insisted that his side can put their disappointing start in the Bundesliga behind them in their Champions League qualifier tonight.

The Bundesliga giants take on PAOK in the first leg of their decider for a place in the group stages, but will be without top scorer Klass-Jan Huntelaar after he suffered a knee injury last weekend.

Keller believes that his team are capable of bouncing back from a 4-0 defeat at Wolfsburg on Sunday and is confident that his players have the character to perform under pressure.

He told reporters at a pre-match press conference: "We had all hoped that things would have gone well so far, but that's not the case so of course we are under pressure.

"But you always have great pressure at Schalke and we've shown in the past that we can cope very well with it. We responded on the final day of last season against Freiburg and so I'm optimistic that we'll be able to cope with this situation.

"Schalke must not be scared. We play in one of the best leagues in the world and came fourth last year and we want to reach our goal of the group phase. PAOK are a good side, but we know our own qualities and when you see how we have played in recent years, then we've got to be optimistic we will make it.

PAOK arrive at the Veltins-Arena coached by a man familiar to home fans. Dutchman Huub Stevens is a former two-time boss of Schalke who was voted coach of the century by club's fans but was sacked midway through last season.