We strive to dominate and be brave

- The first friendly match has taken place as part of this training camp. What can you say about the play, what did the team look like?

- It’s an expectedly tough match. The first game after seven days of work. We knew that it would be really tough because the guys felt their great responsibility, the stressful situation. We felt the lack of playing rhythm, especially for 25 minutes in the first half, when the opponents managed to use space and time, played well and fully dominated it. After Djurasek hit the crossbar, we already felt that we could play better. The team were improving, scored the first and second goals by the end of the first half, and in the last 15 minutes they delivered a few set-pieces that they had practised over the week, in the match against the opponents who will soon start the league campaign and have the run of form that we did feel on the pitch. Early in the second half, the guys tried their best and carried out the moves that we had worked out. There might have been less pace and rhythm on the part of the opponents, but our tempo was good and, perhaps, we even deserved to win.

- What was missing, what else do you need to work on?

- We just need to continue spending even more time on the things we have already begun. There are still many segments that can’t be done in just a week: that’s the transition from positional to active defence, pressing, although the idea was to “live” in the opponents’ half of the field and not allow them to conveniently dispose of the ball in order to neutralize the counterattacks which the opponents use very effectively in the Championship. In general, they are a vertical team with a good player in front. Maybe we lacked in something a bit in certain situations, because the jitters did their job: we unforcedly gave the ball away on three to four occasions in the first half, and they also had chances due to our mistakes. But this is just the first match with which we ‘broke the ice’ – we are going to work on. We’ll do better because we’ve still got another month before the start of the Championship.

- We saw two different lineups – in the first and second half.

- That’s not the first or second lineup – this is our team. We looked at the balance, at the profile of the players operating at certain positions, and based on the fact that everyone should play for about 45 minutes with good intensity. Those who didn’t have the opportunity to play, do some additional work. And from tomorrow we are preparing for the next microcycle, for the match against Ajax, which is a really big challenge for us. For 100 percent we will be a little better – in terms of energy, tactics, dynamics and self-confidence, because every day we will be stepping it up. Of course, the first match is over now, we had some jitters, we hadn’t played for a long while – we’re lacking some run of form. And that's okay. The guys did well. We are moving on.

- The experienced Sergii Kryvtsov and Mykola Matviienko did not play. Did you feel their absence?

- Of course, it’s better for the young guys to develop with the older ones nearby. This is necessary to add maturity to the team, because the average age of all title-winning teams is 28 years old. The average age of our team – you can count the current age now. But this does not mean that we have zero motivation. No, we multiply our talent by motivation and we will grow as a team every day. Regarding the players mentioned, of course, we lack their leadership qualities: everyone else feels more secure when they are on the field. I hope they will be on the team soon. Bondarenko also felt some back pain and would stay without playing practice for a couple of days. Let's see what will happen by the matches against Ajax and Utrecht.

- A training camp week is over now. What can you say about their physical form?

- The team cannot be ready in a week. We are only laying the foundation of their playing discipline, their appearance. We want the fans to look at the team for the first time and understand what we are aiming for: whether we want to play low, whether we want to be on the opponents’ half of the pitch, to dominate the play through having the ball, to be aggressive and to be brave. Despite the team’s current age, we must have creativity and courage on the field without any insecurities, without fear. Although, on the other hand, fear causes courage. And we want to demand from the guys that they always be courageous, not afraid of playing, not afraid of the ball, even if we are in a difficult situation like now. Even if you make mistakes, you have to move forward.

- What’s the mood in the team before the friendly match against Ajax?