Rostov want to make history against Manchester United in Europa League, claims coach Ivan Daniliants
* Russian side Rostov face Manchester United at Old Trafford on Thursday night
* There are 8-1 odds on Rostov reaching the next stage of the Europa League
* Ivan Daniliants thinks Rostov can benefit from the quality of the pitch
Rostov arrive at Old Trafford as unfancied Europa League fodder for Manchester United, but coach Ivan Daniliants is confident of confounding the doubters and making history.
A week on from a hard-fought 1-1 draw in Russia, the Zholto-Sinie arrive in England looking to cause an upset against Jose Mourinho's side in the second leg of this last-16 clash.
Odds of 8-1 on Rostov progressing underline what a steep challenge lies in wait, yet there is an underlying confidence of reaching the quarter-finals - little surprise given they have beaten Bayern Munich, Ajax and Anderlecht this term.
The players from the Rostov squad do laps of the Old Trafford pitch ahead of the second-leg
'Both clubs have their own history, but we are here to make history tomorrow,' the Russian side's coach Daniliants said.
'We want to unite tomorrow and to show a decent performance. We trust in our team, we believe in every single player and I am sure that if we do our best the outcome will be positive.'
Rostov are team without star names, built around collective quality.
The togetherness is highlighted by the fact that key players Aleksandr Gatskan, Timofei Kalachev, Soslan Dzhanaev and Vladimir Granat have travelled to Manchester, despite being ruled out through suspension or injury.
The latter was the only injury sustained by either side during last week's first leg, despite concerns over the rock-hard, sandy surface.
Jose Mourinho's desire to have the match called off fell on deaf ears at UEFA, but the Russian Premier League announced on the eve of the second leg that the Olimp-2 surface is unplayable.
'I think every single player of both teams will benefit from using a pitch of the higher quality,' Rostov coach Daniliants said of playing on the plush grass of Old Trafford.
'This is why I would not like to comment specifically on our style of play when we're using this high quality pitch, just to say everyone will enjoy it.'
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