The head coach of Dynamo Kyiv answered journalists’ questions after the home match against Zorya in which “White-Blues” won 3:1.
— Zorya head coach Viktor Skrypnyk just said that his team faced a “hungry” Dynamo, playing after two defeats, which made things difficult for them. How did you emotionally and psychologically prepare the team and how did you improve morale after unsuccessful matches?
— First of all, today is Firefighters’ Day. I want to thank these people who are doing their job. This is very important in these difficult times for our country.
Regarding your question — of course, we always strive to stay “hungry” for victories and goals. Today there was no need for additional motivation. I believe we played quite well in previous matches but didn’t convert our chances, and that’s why we lost.
Today our finishing, desire to play and overall mindset — even though we conceded first — were at the level we always want to see.
— Today you secured your tenth top-level win as a head coach. Is it special for you?
— Our team is currently in a process of development. We are looking for new connections and aiming for emotional cohesion — not just between two or three players but across the whole team. We want to defend, attack and especially handle transitions together as one unit.
As for it being the tenth win — every victory is important to me just like every defeat. From defeats we draw conclusions, become stronger and analyze why things happen the way they do. Of course, it’s nice that it’s the tenth win. Overall these numbers don’t mean anything special to me but it’s nice that someone keeps track and analyzes them.
— Mykola Mykhailenko was not in the squad today. What happened to him?
— He has a minor injury. He will miss about a week and then return to training with the main group.
