Vogel focused on last four

By Matthew Allen

PSV Eindhoven midfield player Johann Vogel is calling for another solid team effort as his team seeks to press home their away goal advantage in the second leg of their quarter-final UEFA Champions League tie against Olympique Lyonnais.

Late equaliser
A late goal from Phillip Cocu in France last week earned the Dutch side a 1-1 draw and a vital edge as they prepare to play host to Lyon in the Philips stadium on Wednesday. The combative Vogel praised the spirited team performance that has taken the 1988 European champions further in the Champions League than they have ever reached before.

'Slight advantage'
"It was a good result against Lyon," he told uefa.com. "It was important to get the away goal and it has given us a slight advantage for the second leg. In the first half we had a few problems, but in the second half we were more compact and didn't have any more trouble."

Dangerous forwards
The Swiss international was particularly pleased with the way the team worked together to shackle Lyon's dangerous forwards, who put ten goals past Werder Bremen in the last round. "Lyon's strikers are very fast and are gone in a flash which makes them very dangerous," said Vogel. "But they only had three or four chances in the whole game, which was very good for us. They now have to do something to get a goal so we must play in a compact way again and stay patient for the 90 minutes."

Uncharted waters
PSV have already entered uncharted waters by reaching the final eight of the competition for the first time since its inception in 1992/93. They now they find themselves confidently eyeing a semi-final berth, and Vogel sees no reason why they should not go on to lift the trophy in May.

'We want more'
"We are happy with where we have got, but now that we have got this far of course we want more," he said. "We want to reach the semi-finals, and when one gets that far anything can happen. Together we are very strong and everyone fights for each other, and that is the strength of the team."

Summer signings
Vogel believes that the club is stronger this season despite the summer departures of star forwards Arjen Robben and Mateja Kezman to Chelsea FC, with the players who joined PSV in the summer having made the difference between success in the Champions League this year and disappointment in recent seasons.

Important players
"To have the likes of Arjen Robben in the team would have been good, but the big clubs have the financial resources to buy the best players and that is why they don't stay here," he said. "With the arrival of defender Alex, [Heurelho] Gomes in goal and Cocu in midfield we are now a very balanced team and we have all profited from their international experience."

Negotiations stalled
But the 28-year-old, who joined PSV from Swiss side Grasshopper-Club in 1999, doubts whether he himself will be at the club for much longer as his current contract expires in the summer and negotiations on a new deal have stalled.

Where next?
"I don't think I will be at PSV next season," he said. "I am talking to the club at the moment but we haven't come to an agreement about a long-term contract and now I have to orientate myself differently. I haven't spoken to other clubs, but if I am transferred I hope to play for a good club that has high ambitions."