Turkey look to fulfil Terim's pledge

Coach Fatih Terim is keen to honour his promise that Turkey will make a "significant contribution" at the finals after qualifying for UEFA EURO 2008™.

'I made a promise'
Wednesday's 1-0 win against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Istanbul ensured Turkey held off Norway for second spot in Group C, and while conceding that his position would have been untenable had his team failed to qualify, Terim is now confident about their future. "Had we missed our chance, someone would have had to take responsibility and I would have done so," he said. "But now we are through, I will be with my team. I made a promise that we would qualify and make a significant contribution at the finals. The first part of that mission is accomplished – now it's time to focus on the second."

Wavering form
Turkey's form wavered alarmingly after a 4-1 win over European champions Greece in Athens in their fourth qualifier. Draws against Malta and Moldova, a defeat in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and a 1-0 home loss to Greece handed Norway the initiative. And while Turkey regained second place with a gritty 2-1 victory in Oslo on Saturday, and subsequently qualified, Terim concedes that changes have to be made.

Changes due
"Barring Rüştü Reçber and Emre Aşık, we have a young team," he said, "and there will be more new faces. There are players we have been unable to call up because of injury or suspension. We have seven months now to prepare and reshuffle before the finals. There will be changes during that period. We must make an impression at the finals and we believe we have the ability to do it. Our players have shouldered a big burden, which is difficult to do at such a young age."

Nihat proud
Villarreal CF striker Nihat Kahveci, who scored the only goal against Bosnia-Herzegovina, had personal reason to celebrate, saying: "I am back playing again after a serious injury and things will only get better. We shouldn't have left it so late to qualify, but we deserved to do so all the same. The winning goals I have scored [against Norway and Bosnia-Herzegovina] made the difference but you can't deny that this is a team effort. We have won crucial games [this week] to give people an idea of what we can achieve."