Kovalenko: Wins give lift of emotions
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
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Shakhtar midfielder answered the questions from shakhtar.com
- Viktor, you had been training apart from the general group for some time. Did it affect your physical conditioning?
- For now, I am far from being in my top shape, so I am eager to pick up the form as soon as possible and help the team. I hope to get 100 percent ready for the match with Celta. Training camps are a vital stage of the season, where we lay the foundation for several months to come. Everyone is aware of that and working with utmost dedication.
- What do the coaching staff lay focus on in Portugal?
- In contrast to the first training camp in Spain, more attention is paid to playing issues and tactical interactions at the sessions. And main thing is that we hold many friendlies, which does a lot of good for preparation. You always want to stay on the pitch as long as possible; however, the coach decides a number of minutes allotted to you. My task is working and displaying a high-level performance.
- Are friendly matches’ results of great importance for footballers?
- Of course, when you win it is always nicer to work, with the entire team experiencing lift of emotions. Therefore, we try to win every game.
- Have the squad already begun to study Celta? What can you say about them?
- Above all, Celta are very good defensively. Thanks to this, our opponents knocked out Real Madrid in the Spanish Cup, having gathered decent momentum in the domestic league. Players possess many strong qualities, but the most important is - I repeat myself - their defensive performance. However, there are players being able to create chances in the attack at the same time. I guess we will analyse them more carefully closer towards the start of the match.
- For now, I am far from being in my top shape, so I am eager to pick up the form as soon as possible and help the team. I hope to get 100 percent ready for the match with Celta. Training camps are a vital stage of the season, where we lay the foundation for several months to come. Everyone is aware of that and working with utmost dedication.
- What do the coaching staff lay focus on in Portugal?
- In contrast to the first training camp in Spain, more attention is paid to playing issues and tactical interactions at the sessions. And main thing is that we hold many friendlies, which does a lot of good for preparation. You always want to stay on the pitch as long as possible; however, the coach decides a number of minutes allotted to you. My task is working and displaying a high-level performance.
- Are friendly matches’ results of great importance for footballers?
- Of course, when you win it is always nicer to work, with the entire team experiencing lift of emotions. Therefore, we try to win every game.
- Have the squad already begun to study Celta? What can you say about them?
- Above all, Celta are very good defensively. Thanks to this, our opponents knocked out Real Madrid in the Spanish Cup, having gathered decent momentum in the domestic league. Players possess many strong qualities, but the most important is - I repeat myself - their defensive performance. However, there are players being able to create chances in the attack at the same time. I guess we will analyse them more carefully closer towards the start of the match.