Bulgaria head coach Ilian Iliev insists there are "no problems" as his side prepare to face the Republic of Ireland against the backdrop of discontent over his position.
Iliev also manages top-tier side Cherno More, leading to accusations of bias from some of the clubs rivals and a call for him to resign by the FA's president.
Iliev did reportedly offer his resignation, but the country's football authorities refused to accept it, and he remains in charge for the two-legged play off that will decide which of the countries plays in League Nations B next campaign.
"I have been in situations like this before, we have no worries," Iliev said, through a translator, in Plovdiv today.
"It's normal to have pressure for a game like this.
"We are happy to be together here. Once I am with the national team I have full concentration before the game and I am not worried about what is written in the press and the media.
"We are thinking about the future, not just about these two matches. I am sorry that such things are being written, much of it is not true.
"It is important that we are concentrated on the match tomorrow. It is an important match, against a good team, we have to enjoy it."
Bulgaria manager Ilian Iliev insists the row over his position, which led to the country's FA refusing his resignation, will not overshadow Thursday's #NationsLeague play-off with the Republic of Ireland
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) March 19, 2025
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Striker Kiril Despodov, named Bulgaria’s player of the year for 2024 earlier this week, agreed with his manager that the mood in the squad was positive .
"As the coach says we don't feel any pressure, we try to keep very compact the atmosphere in the team, to be stable together," said Despodov. "It's only like this that we can succeed in this game.
"We are not looking for other things around, what is written, what people are saying or thinking in the media, we are focused on the game,"
"Ireland are a good team, they play aggressively, they are a typical example of teams from that island and like in our first match with Northern Ireland [who beat Bulgaria 5-0], we have to have full concentration."
Watch Bulgaria v Republic of Ireland in the UEFA Nations League on Thursday from 7pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to live commentary on an extended 2fm's Game On.
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