Rehhagel's team could not repeat their Euro 2004 success
Greece coach Otto Rehhagel blamed his side's lack of potency in attack for their demise at Euro 2008.
The holders went out at the group stage after a 1-0 defeat by Russia that followed a 2-0 loss to Sweden in their opening game of the campaign.
"I am not as disappointed as all that," said Rehhagel.
"I knew at what level we were and everything had to come together for us to beat the Russians. Our problem is that we score so few goals."
Angelos Charisteas missed Greece's best chance against Russia and, although Rehhagel cited his team's weakness, he believes they improved from their showing against Sweden.
"It was a very competitive match and we played better than we did against Sweden," he added.
"But unfortunately, and this is nothing new, we didn't score.
"It is for that reason we focused on a tight defence and hitting them on the counter-attack.
"We are not a team that scores three goals in every match.
"What I liked was the passion shown by my team, the fact that they played with such heart, despite the strength of the Russian side."
Greece caused one of the biggest shocks in tournament football when they won Euro 2004 but failed to shine at the current championship in Austria and Switzerland.
"We all came here obviously to get the best possible result from the tournament but we were in a group with Spain (who they play on Wednesday and who will finish top of the group) and Sweden," stated Rehhagel.
"We knew it would be difficult but we did compete here.
"And we will not be the only ones with a big reputation to exit at the first stage.
"Neither France or Italy might make the quarter-finals. A miracle happened in 2004 and a miracle only comes around every 30 years. That is why we call them miracles."
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