The Turks scored last-minute winners against Switzerland and the Czech Republic to squeeze out of their group, and then grabbed an equaliser in the dying seconds of extra time in their quarter-final with Croatia before going through on penalties.

Their eleventh-hour escapades have arguably been the highlight of the tournament, and Terim reckons people will be talking about Turkey long after the conclusion of the tournament.

But the man dubbed "The Emperor" in his homeland reckons there is still unfinished business to attend to ahead of their last-four showdown with Germany in Basle tomorrow.

"One of the other things we said before we came here was that we wanted to remind the football world of Turkey, so where we are today is important," said the former AC Milan and Galatasaray coach.

"What we have experienced so far makes it more meaningful - everyone, whether they are football fans or not, is talking about Turkey.

"In four years' time, people will think of Turkey in the sense that we have succeeded.

"For me and the players, we still have a goal and we will work to achieve that target. The schedule I sent out six months ago covered the whole of June.

"So maybe I have done the right thing there."

Turkey's preparations for the match have been hampered by suspension and injury problems which will be giving Terim a headache.

He will be without as many as eight players tomorrow - Tuncay Sanli, Arda Turan, Volkan Demirel and Emre Asik are all suspended and Nihat Kahveci, Emre Gungor, Servet Cetin and Emre Belozoglu are injured.

Tumer Metin was expected to be sidelined as well but Terim revealed the Larisa midfielder should be able to play "30 minutes at most".

Terim accepts injuries and bans are a part of football and is not about to use them as an excuse.

"Players are coming here from very intense league matches and, up until now, they have played big matches - all of them have been like finals with a high tempo and rhythm," he added.

"The pressure of being behind in these matches and the desire to win that comes with it have made it difficult for the players.

"Some players have not even told us the signals they are getting from their bodies. They have just wanted to keep on playing.

"I think we just have to look into the future and accept it. We have to believe that the players who will come in will do well."

With so few players available to him, Terim was quoted this week as saying he might even consider playing third-choice goalkeeper Tolga Zengin outfield off the bench.

But the 54-year-old claimed his remarks had been taken out of context.

"It was a joke," he confirmed. "But people have taken it seriously.

"It was just a joke to express the fact that we had many injured players."

Turkey, who reached the last four of the World Cup in 2002, will be playing in their first European Championship semi-final.

Germany, meanwhile, have won the tournament three times - twice as West Germany in 1972 and 1980 - and they have the more experienced players at their disposal.

But Terim is confident his team can upset the odds once again.

"We are not afraid of the opposition," he said.

"Germany have played such games before, they have earned respect and are a very good team.

"Yes we have suspensions and injured players, but neither me nor my players believe we have completed what we have set out to do.

"At the beginning of the tournament, not many people knew them but now people are taking their hats off to them.

"We are playing with our minds and our hearts. We will do our best and we will fight until the end."