NK Dinamo Zagreb coach Krunoslav Jurčić has called on his side "to be aggressive and dominant" as they look to overcome FC Salzburg and claim a place in the play-offs for the UEFA Champions League.

Desire
A 1-1 draw in the first leg of their third qualifying round tie in Austria last week has left Dinamo favourably placed to reach the play-off round and secure, at the very least, a place in the group phase of the UEFA Europa League. It is a chance the ambitious young coach is determined not to let slip. "We want to win the match. I want my players to be aggressive and dominant," he said. "We're playing in front of our fans and we want to score."

Career moves
Beating Salzburg would be the latest step up the ladder for Jurčić who has already enjoyed notable success in his fledgling coaching career. The 39-year-old took NK Slaven Koprivnica to second place in Croatia, their highest ever finish, in 2007/08 before going one better and leading Dinamo to the title last season.

In form
The former Torino FC and UC Sampdoria player, a member of the Croatia team that came third at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, started his playing career at Dinamo and is making quite an impact on his return. Victory against Salzburg would in itself constitute a successful campaign for Dinamo who have kicked off the season in fine style. Not only are they top of the league with two victories – and eleven goals scored – from as many matches, but Jurčić has, so far, also managed to retain the services of sought-after striker Mario Mandžukić.

Suspended striker
The 23-year-old scored Dinamo's equalising goal in Austria but was then dismissed in added time, ruling him out of the return. If that dampened Jurčić's enthusiasm, then Saturday's 4-0 defeat of NK Medimurje, courtesy of two goals for Andrej Kramarić and one apiece from Miroslav Slepička and Dimitris Papadopoulos, ensured his team go into the second leg full of confidence. "We will miss Mandžukić a lot – he is a very important player for us – but Slepička played excellently last time out," Jurčić said. "Papadopoulos is a player that needs time but he scored his first goal for the club and Kramarić, who scored two goals, is in excellent form. I have to be happy with the options I have in attack."

Pressure off
All that remains to be seen, is whether Dinamo can rise to the challenge. "This is an important match for all of us, but I'm preparing my players in such a way that they don't view it as historic," Jurčić said. "I want to avoid putting pressure on the players, the kind of pressure I always felt during my playing days."