Senol preaches respect as Turks look for upset

He comes in peace, but still he comes to bury England. That was the message sent out yesterday by Turkey's coach, Senol Gunes, in an hour-long press conference that began with a scripted speech about the value of harmony in a war-torn world and ended with the words: "We are here to win."

Speaking through an interpreter at his team's hotel in Newcastle, Senol talked about a football world order in a state of rapid transition. "Meetings between the small nations and the big nations have changed," he said.

"There is no big difference any more. We do not look up to any team as giants and we don't look down on anyone else as minnows. We respect every nation regardless of their language, their religion, their race and their nationality."

He said that tomorrow's game, played against the dual backdrop of war and a recent history of animosity between English and Turkish fans, would provide a chance to show the game as a force for good.

"Football is about creating nice things, not about creating enemies. Football has its uniforms but it doesn't have a country, it's the world."

The speech verged towards the surreal when he added: "Watching this match is going to be like watching the eighth wonder of the world." But he seemed sincere in his assertion that "the fans will have the chance to watch quality in Sunderland at a time when the world is in need of peace and friendship".

He added: "The football was under the shade of the war until today. I hope the fans have pleasure and that they forget about the war."

As the man who guided Turkey to third place in last year's World Cup and can boast a squad packed with dynamic young players who are finding individual success across Europe's élite leagues, Senol can afford to be expansive.

Senol also indicated that he has seen nothing from England recently that gives him cause for concern, saying England's win against Slovakia last year was "undeserved". He stopped short of drawing too many conclusions from the poor showing against Liechtenstein, however.

"England played against the weakest link in the group. They played at a very low tempo to concentrate on our game. They will play a different game against us."

Senol added that Turkey were not in a situation where they had to prove themselves. "But we want to move one step forward by winning this game."