Forgotten Premier League star on Olympiakos loan deal says it’s ‘crazy’ he could be in European final after injury hell

OMAR RICHARDS has told his cock-a-hoop Olympiakos teammates to beware the British bulldog spirit against Aston Villa tonight.

Or it could cost them their place in their first ever European final.

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Richards, one of two Englishmen in the Greek camp, warned: “Villa have that British mentality – even though they are two goals behind, they will NEVER accept it’s over.”

The Greeks celebrated their 4-2 first-leg win with their fans at full-time at Villa Park as if they had already booked their place in the final.

But Lewisham-born Richards, currently on loan from Nottingham Forest, has told his teammates they would be crazy to write Villa off – even with a two goal advantage.

He said: “We’ve only played the first-half of the tie.

“I know they’re going to come out even stronger in the return-leg and I’ve warned our lads we have to be ready for any backlash.

“Making sure we left Villa Park with a two-goal lead was very important – it will help us a lot in Piraeus – but Villa will believe they can still turn it around.”

Olympiakos had never reached a European semi-final until this season – now they have their sights set on their first ever final in their hometown city of Athens.

Richards said: “We made history last week, taking the first step. But there’s still a big job to be done in the second-leg.

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“Everyone is obviously excited and it’s a great achievement to win the first part.

“We played with no fear at Villa Park. We came out with a good plan, we stuck to it and we had early success.

“We grew in confidence, made it difficult for them and, when we had our chances we took them.

“Our striker Ayoub El Kaabi scored a hat-trick and showed what a good player he is. He doesn’t stop running, he takes his chances and he’s a beast!

“We can’t just say Villa underestimated us, we played very well. When they came back and scored twice to make it 2-2 we stayed composed and that will be important again at our place.

“There were a lot of attacks coming my way and I just tried to stay in the game – don’t do anything silly.

“We stuck to the plan and it worked for us. We bounced back with two goals and we fixed everything.”

For left-back Richards, a place in a European final, would cap a remarkable comeback following 18 months of injury hell.

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The 26-year-old Londoner was hoping to make an impact in the Premier League when Nottingham Forest paid Bayern Munich £8.5million to land him in the summer of 2022.

But a fractured shin, suffered during Forest’s pre-season training camp in Valencia, was followed by a hernia operation which ruled him out for the entire season.

Last August Forest loaned him to their sister-club Olympiakos and Richards finally made his comeback in December.

He said: “It’s crazy to think I’m 90 minutes away from a European final because I’ve been through a lot in the last couple of years.

“As for my Forest future I don’t know about that. It’s something we’ll sit down and sort out at the end of the season.

“But it’s not about me this week, it’s about the team, and we’re looking forward to playing in front of our incredible fans in the Karaiskakis Stadium.

“There were 2,500 of them at Villa Park and when we arrived at the ground they were already in their corner, long before any Villa fans arrived.

“We could see their dedication – they are like a 12th man on the pitch for us and every opponent who comes here discovers this.”