We are focused on our own game
Wednesday, February 21, 2024
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Press conference of head coach of Shakhtar Marino Pusic before the UEFA Europa League second leg against Marseille
– Greetings. Has the line-up changed compared to last week and are there any injured or suspended players?
– It is the second game, and, as we all know, everything will be decided there. We felt how good Marseille are in the first game, despite all the problems they have at this moment. But I can tell you that they are still Marseille, with a lot of very strong individual players who make it possible to get a result. We felt that in the first game, and we have to be ready for the second game to respond well in some individual moments, which is what we are going to do. It will be an interesting game anyway: it was fifty-fifty in the first game, probably, it will be the same in the second game as well. It is always tough to play an away game here in Marseille – I had that experience with Feyenoord two years ago in the semi-finals of the UEFA Conference League. I know how loud it can be in this stadium with a lot of fans, but it is also very nice because you play these kind of games in this atmosphere, with this pressure and everything that these matches bring. So, we are looking forward to play the game and will be ready for it. As for the changes, football changes every day, and everything is possible. There is also a lot of room for changes in our squad. But the coach may also change, so it is possible that they will change the style of play. It is all about adaptation at the right moment, and I think that we are able to adapt to any situation.
– Will the change of coach affect the preparation for the match, will there be any new tactics in the game?
– It is always an interesting situation when a club changes a coach before a game, trying to achieve something. They could change several things – we do not know about it, but it is possible. However, this does not affect our preparation for the game. We are fully focused on ourselves, on maintaining our style. Of course, we care about our opponent, as always, we study them, and how they are going to play right now is up to their coach of course, but like I said before, it is a big club, it is a team with a lot of individual qualities. For me, the main thing in a football game is adaptation to the situation on the pitch. We are ready to respond to a lot of things, and I hope that we will show it tomorrow. Like I always say to my team: we came to compete with another team. It is the second game, we came to play football, we like the atmosphere, I like this pressure, so we are looking forward to this match.
– A short question about Stepanenko: he got injured, will he play tomorrow?
– We do not know yet, to be honest. He is a strong guy, we call him “iron man”, he is our captain, a great player with a great character, so we hope that he will be ready to play tomorrow because he missed a lot during the preparation period. We will see how he feels during the training session tonight. If it goes well, he will play. It would be good for us, because he is important for our team, of course. Like I said, he has character and I expect him to do everything to be ready for his team, to help them and to perform, as he always does. Of course, I will be very happy if Stepanenko is on the pitch tomorrow. But if not, which is possible, we have other players who can replace him. We will see tomorrow.
– How is Dmytro Kryskiv feeling and will he play?
– Kryskiv worked well during the preparation time, but, unfortunately, he got injured at the last moment and was not able to play in the first match. But several days have passed, so he is feeling better, he will train tonight and, if he does not have a bad reaction tomorrow morning, he will be one of the candidates to play. He feels good today, that is why he will train tonight. We will see tomorrow. He is a good player with great prospects and, like I said, he did pretty well during preparation period, played good games, so it was a unfortunate not to have him in the first leg, but those were the circumstances. We have other players for substitution, so there is positive competition in the team, which is very good. The players push each other to a higher level, work hard, which also applies to Kryskiv. So, if he passes the test today, he will be one of the candidates tomorrow for sure.
– How is the adaptation of newcomers, especially Kevin, going? It seems as if he has already blended into the team, but what about football? And what can you say about Traore’s readiness?
– Like every young player from abroad, he needs time to adapt to a new environment, a new way of playing and training. He is young, very talented, passionate, likes to work hard, has chances and already got the first minutes in the previous match. But such players need more time to adapt, to catch this rhythm and style of play, and we give them that time of course, because we have a lot of young players who need to develop and work hard, we have a pretty young squad in general, and it includes him. I am very happy to see his attitude during the training sessions – how he works, how he tries to learn and improve, and he will be one of the candidates tomorrow as well, that is clear. As for Traore, Lassina, as you know, returned after a very long recovery from injury, worked very hard to get minutes in the last game against Marseille. Unfortunately, we could not use him in the game during the pre-season because he was not ready yet, we have to do it now, during official matches, when it is possible and necessary. He is coming back, slowly but surely, and I am very glad to see that, because Lassina is a quality player, a young footballer, but with a lot of experience. We are very happy to have him in our squad.
– It is the second game, and, as we all know, everything will be decided there. We felt how good Marseille are in the first game, despite all the problems they have at this moment. But I can tell you that they are still Marseille, with a lot of very strong individual players who make it possible to get a result. We felt that in the first game, and we have to be ready for the second game to respond well in some individual moments, which is what we are going to do. It will be an interesting game anyway: it was fifty-fifty in the first game, probably, it will be the same in the second game as well. It is always tough to play an away game here in Marseille – I had that experience with Feyenoord two years ago in the semi-finals of the UEFA Conference League. I know how loud it can be in this stadium with a lot of fans, but it is also very nice because you play these kind of games in this atmosphere, with this pressure and everything that these matches bring. So, we are looking forward to play the game and will be ready for it. As for the changes, football changes every day, and everything is possible. There is also a lot of room for changes in our squad. But the coach may also change, so it is possible that they will change the style of play. It is all about adaptation at the right moment, and I think that we are able to adapt to any situation.
– Will the change of coach affect the preparation for the match, will there be any new tactics in the game?
– It is always an interesting situation when a club changes a coach before a game, trying to achieve something. They could change several things – we do not know about it, but it is possible. However, this does not affect our preparation for the game. We are fully focused on ourselves, on maintaining our style. Of course, we care about our opponent, as always, we study them, and how they are going to play right now is up to their coach of course, but like I said before, it is a big club, it is a team with a lot of individual qualities. For me, the main thing in a football game is adaptation to the situation on the pitch. We are ready to respond to a lot of things, and I hope that we will show it tomorrow. Like I always say to my team: we came to compete with another team. It is the second game, we came to play football, we like the atmosphere, I like this pressure, so we are looking forward to this match.
– A short question about Stepanenko: he got injured, will he play tomorrow?
– We do not know yet, to be honest. He is a strong guy, we call him “iron man”, he is our captain, a great player with a great character, so we hope that he will be ready to play tomorrow because he missed a lot during the preparation period. We will see how he feels during the training session tonight. If it goes well, he will play. It would be good for us, because he is important for our team, of course. Like I said, he has character and I expect him to do everything to be ready for his team, to help them and to perform, as he always does. Of course, I will be very happy if Stepanenko is on the pitch tomorrow. But if not, which is possible, we have other players who can replace him. We will see tomorrow.
– How is Dmytro Kryskiv feeling and will he play?
– Kryskiv worked well during the preparation time, but, unfortunately, he got injured at the last moment and was not able to play in the first match. But several days have passed, so he is feeling better, he will train tonight and, if he does not have a bad reaction tomorrow morning, he will be one of the candidates to play. He feels good today, that is why he will train tonight. We will see tomorrow. He is a good player with great prospects and, like I said, he did pretty well during preparation period, played good games, so it was a unfortunate not to have him in the first leg, but those were the circumstances. We have other players for substitution, so there is positive competition in the team, which is very good. The players push each other to a higher level, work hard, which also applies to Kryskiv. So, if he passes the test today, he will be one of the candidates tomorrow for sure.
– How is the adaptation of newcomers, especially Kevin, going? It seems as if he has already blended into the team, but what about football? And what can you say about Traore’s readiness?
– Like every young player from abroad, he needs time to adapt to a new environment, a new way of playing and training. He is young, very talented, passionate, likes to work hard, has chances and already got the first minutes in the previous match. But such players need more time to adapt, to catch this rhythm and style of play, and we give them that time of course, because we have a lot of young players who need to develop and work hard, we have a pretty young squad in general, and it includes him. I am very happy to see his attitude during the training sessions – how he works, how he tries to learn and improve, and he will be one of the candidates tomorrow as well, that is clear. As for Traore, Lassina, as you know, returned after a very long recovery from injury, worked very hard to get minutes in the last game against Marseille. Unfortunately, we could not use him in the game during the pre-season because he was not ready yet, we have to do it now, during official matches, when it is possible and necessary. He is coming back, slowly but surely, and I am very glad to see that, because Lassina is a quality player, a young footballer, but with a lot of experience. We are very happy to have him in our squad.