Marseille boss Marcelino urged his players to seize the chance to forge a new style during their Champions League match on Wednesday night against Panathinaikos.
"The players must show the way they want to play," said the 57-year-old Spaniard who took over in June from Igor Tudor.
"I've only been here for just over a month so this is a moment when we are rebuilding but we've got to be ready."
𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐞 𝐈 𝐝𝐞 𝐥’𝐎𝐝𝐲𝐬𝐬𝐞́𝐞 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞́𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞 ✨
— Olympique de Marseille (@OM_Officiel) August 9, 2023
Nos Olympiens défient ce soir à 2️⃣0️⃣h le 𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗶𝗸𝗼𝘀 🇬🇷 pour le 3️⃣ème tour préliminaire de @ChampionsLeague⭐️ #PAOFCOM pic.twitter.com/fJmsiqmV0Z
Marseille moved into the qualifying rounds for European club football's most prestigious competition after finishing the 2022/2023 Ligue 1 season in third place.
Champions Paris Saint-Germain and runners-up Lens advanced directly into the draw for the tournament's group stages.
That will be held on 31 August in the Swiss city of Nyon and if Marseille want to feature among the 32 teams, they will have to see of Panathinaikos and then another adversary.
"If I had the choice I wouldn't be playing this game at this point of the season," added Marcelino.
"But I knew this would be the case when I took over. We've been working as hard as possible to put ourselves in a position to get a good result.
Results
Marseille lost to the German Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen last Wednesday in the final game of their warm-up campaign that brought victories over third tier Nimes and the Dutch first division team Waalwijk and a defeat to Eupen who play in the Belgian top flight.
"We'll know where we rally are after the game on Wednesday night in Athens," added Marcelino. "We're all having to get used to each other very quickly."
Marseille launch their Ligue 1 campaign on Saturday afternoon at home to Reims before the second leg against Panathinaikos on Tuesday night.
PSG begin the defence of their title on Saturday night at the Parc des Princes against Lorient.
Star striker Kylian Mbappé is unlikely to feature in the squad of new boss Luis Enrique.
The 24-year-old France skipper has been sidelined since refusing to sign a contract extension. PSG supremos want to sell him before the transfer window closes so that they can receive a transfer fee.
If Mbappé stays until the end of his current deal next summer, he will be able to go to whatever club he chooses and PSG will not receive any cash.
