Mircea Lucescu: Stal will be motivated
Saturday, April 9, 2016
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Head coach of Shakhtar answered questions from journalists
- Mister, why does Taison not train?
- He suffers from myositis, for three weeks now. Every time we try to prepare him for the game, so that he is fresh, but after the game he feels some discomfort. So now Taison needs recovery more than any training workloads. He will not participate in tomorrow's match. We will be preparing him for the match against Braga.
- Why is Arabidze not present? Normally, he trains with the first team.
- If you know, Shakhtar reserve team play today. Everyone is there.
- What’s your take on the next opponents? Stal had multiple defence in the game vs Vorskla...
- I'm sure it will not be easy for us tomorrow. Any opponents will be fighting in a match against Shakhtar. And here, perhaps, it’s not even about the points, but about motivation they will take the field with. Maybe someone else will motivate them. There are teams where the players do not get paid on time, with many footballers not receiving wages at all. So that’s the time when they can earn some money... But that’s not the most important thing. They play against Shakhtar, they will be motivated, and that's normal! We have to recover as soon as possible after the match against Braga and the air trip. It wasn’t easy for us psychologically. We had to be collected throughout the match. But, unfortunately, at the end of the meeting, we got slack and concede one goal. When such events occur on the pitch, the fatigue is probably felt even more.
- Meteor is not a very good stadium in terms of the pitch turf. Are you concerned over it?
- It is important that everyone is healthy before the return game vs Braga, so that no one gets injured. That’s the most important thing. We cannot take risks towards the end of the league season, and cannot risk the players and points, as we fight for all three titles. Naturally, it is desirable that we don’t get the referee from Kyiv at such crucial matches. I expect a very tough game – both in terms of the pitch, and the opponents themselves, who, probably, will be fighting for points.
- How does your work, as a coach, gets complicated by the fact that you have to fight on three fronts?
- It's okay, that’s our profession. We work in order to challenge titles. There is no guarantee that you will win this or that trophy, so we will fight on all fronts! The only thing I want is being respected and treated properly.
- Do you plan to give anyone some rest tomorrow?
- First of all, Taison will not play for sure. At today's training, we will assess the condition of the other players. We will see in what form will Rakits’kyy be. Maybe, we will try a pairing, who will be fielded in the second match against Braga in view of the fact that Rakits’kyy has got excessive yellow cards. We will check Kryvtsov. The one who proves better from the pairing Ordets-Kryvtsov, will be fielded against Braga.
- He suffers from myositis, for three weeks now. Every time we try to prepare him for the game, so that he is fresh, but after the game he feels some discomfort. So now Taison needs recovery more than any training workloads. He will not participate in tomorrow's match. We will be preparing him for the match against Braga.
- Why is Arabidze not present? Normally, he trains with the first team.
- If you know, Shakhtar reserve team play today. Everyone is there.
- What’s your take on the next opponents? Stal had multiple defence in the game vs Vorskla...
- I'm sure it will not be easy for us tomorrow. Any opponents will be fighting in a match against Shakhtar. And here, perhaps, it’s not even about the points, but about motivation they will take the field with. Maybe someone else will motivate them. There are teams where the players do not get paid on time, with many footballers not receiving wages at all. So that’s the time when they can earn some money... But that’s not the most important thing. They play against Shakhtar, they will be motivated, and that's normal! We have to recover as soon as possible after the match against Braga and the air trip. It wasn’t easy for us psychologically. We had to be collected throughout the match. But, unfortunately, at the end of the meeting, we got slack and concede one goal. When such events occur on the pitch, the fatigue is probably felt even more.
- Meteor is not a very good stadium in terms of the pitch turf. Are you concerned over it?
- It is important that everyone is healthy before the return game vs Braga, so that no one gets injured. That’s the most important thing. We cannot take risks towards the end of the league season, and cannot risk the players and points, as we fight for all three titles. Naturally, it is desirable that we don’t get the referee from Kyiv at such crucial matches. I expect a very tough game – both in terms of the pitch, and the opponents themselves, who, probably, will be fighting for points.
- How does your work, as a coach, gets complicated by the fact that you have to fight on three fronts?
- It's okay, that’s our profession. We work in order to challenge titles. There is no guarantee that you will win this or that trophy, so we will fight on all fronts! The only thing I want is being respected and treated properly.
- Do you plan to give anyone some rest tomorrow?
- First of all, Taison will not play for sure. At today's training, we will assess the condition of the other players. We will see in what form will Rakits’kyy be. Maybe, we will try a pairing, who will be fielded in the second match against Braga in view of the fact that Rakits’kyy has got excessive yellow cards. We will check Kryvtsov. The one who proves better from the pairing Ordets-Kryvtsov, will be fielded against Braga.
