Hoftun wants Highbury coup

By Ben Lyttleton

Rosenborg BK go into their Matchday 6 contest against Arsenal FC rooted to the bottom of UEFA Champions League Group E. But despite having no chance of catching third-placed Panathinaikos FC, who are four points ahead, defender Erik Hoftun insists that pride will be enough to spur on his team-mates at Highbury.

'Still up for it'
"I am still up for it and cannot wait for the 2005 season to start, but first we have the game against Arsenal to look forward to, and it would be nice to end the year on a high," said the only Rosenborg player to have appeared in all of their 59 games in the 2004 campaign.

Defensive absence
The 35-year-old's usual partner at the heart of defence, Vidar Riseth, will miss the match, but Hoftun said that regardless of who played at Highbury, there would be no structural weakness in the Trondheim side's rearguard. "I am sure that whoever comes in against Arsenal will have a good game," said Hoftun.

Hoftun's partners
Hoftun has had a succession of partners in the Rosenborg defence this term, but the Norwegian champions will be without three of them on Tuesday night. Riseth, Christer Basma and Mikael Dorsin are all injured while another possibility, Torjus Hansén, is doubtful. Alexander Tettey or Azar Karadas could step in if necessary.

Important role
New Rosenborg coach Per Joar Hansen admitted he will leave it late to decide who will fill that crucial role. "We have to look at who is going to partner Erik Hoftun in defence and we have a few possibilities," he said. "I haven't decided on my team yet, we will have to see how training goes on Monday."

Rosenborg excitement
Whoever it is will be charged with keeping Thierry Henry in check, something PSV Eindhoven's Wilfred Bouma struggled with in a 1-1 draw on Matchday 5. "I know my players will be up for this game," added Hansen. "The only thing that is sure is that we will be very compact and tight and not go forward too much as we don't want to be exposed too early on."

Significant presence
The coach will not be able to pick Rosenborg's new striker Alexander Ødegaard, who joined from Sogndal IL last week, as he is ineligible for the competition. But he was confident that Ødegaard's presence in the squad would challenge the current players to improve their performances.

Increased competition
"We have made some signings recently and the players have to respond in the right way," he said. "They have to think positively about the fact they will be able to train with good players and the competition for places will improve them."

Birmingham result
Arsenal need maximum points from the game to be sure of reaching the knockout stages while the omens are not good for Rosenborg, who have lost 14 of their last 15 European matches away from home. But Hoftun warned that although Arsenal's stuttering run of form ended with a 3-0 win against Birmingham City FC at the weekend, Rosenborg could still capitalise if the Gunners show any nerves.

'Decent chance'
"I think it is a good time to play them and we are looking forward to the game," he said. "We saw Arsenal against Birmingham and of course they are a strong team. They were very good at times. But I think we have a decent chance of getting a good result."