- I remember me tossing our coaches and that wasn’t so long ago. When I was a player I couldn’t even imagine that I would be in charge of the team some day.
After Oleh Blokhin’s resignation
- There was some uncertainty when Oleh Blokhin informed about his resignation. After that Ihor Mykhailovych Surkis called me and told that I would be the caretaker manager till the end of the season. I took the offer.
About innovations
- Head coach must communicate with players and discuss his ideas to let them make headway. It’s good that I can speak both Russian and English. It’s very important to be able to talk to performers without interpreter.
About gained experience
- Christoph Daum is a person, who pays a lot of attention to discipline. Every English coach embodies aggression and passion on the pitch. Kurban Berdyev is a highly qualified specialist. I learned something from each of them and noted most interesting elements down.
About European coaches’ style
- I like the way Jürgen Klopp’s Borussia perform. I also enjoy how Atletico Madrid feature under Diego Simeone. They demonstrate aggression in attacking actions and play keep-ball.
About first matches
- I think the game against FC Chornomorets Odesa gave me confidence. I realized that we are on the right track.
About triumph in Ukrainian Cup
- Before the match I told players that Shakhtar are not highly motivated as they’ve already won a lot. It was necessary to understand what could help us to defeat our opponent.
At the awarding ceremony the president of Football Federation gave me two medals. I guess he just didn’t notice that.
I think one medal should be given to Oleh Volodymyrovych Blokhin. The team won only two matches under my charge.
* photo by V. Rasner
