Dynamo's head coach Oleksandr Shovkovskyi answered questions from the media after the 4:1 win over Polissya in the 4th round of the Ukrainian Premier League.
– Dynamo looked physically stronger than the opponent today. What’s the reason for that?
– First of all, congratulations to our fans on this victory, an important one. We’ve had quite a difficult period recently, and with this match we are, perhaps, drawing a line under that stretch – the European games and Ukrainian league matches. Now some players will go off to the senior and U21 national teams, while the rest will get a chance to rest.
As for your question: understanding the team’s condition after the game against Maccabi, I gave the players a full day off. Normally starters have a light recovery session and substitutes have full training, but this time I canceled everything and told them to do as they wished – rest, recover or even train individually.
We worked very hard during preparation so maybe such an unusual move was necessary. It hasn’t been easy – the weather, playing every two or three days and logistics have all taken a toll. We played against a very tough team. I know well Ruslan Petrovych’s coaching style, I know the ambitions of Polissya’s president and what targets they set. We chose a certain tactical plan, which the players executed, though of course, there were mistakes.
– How will you manage rotation in attack this season? How do you plan to cover possible gaps in the forward line?
– Those gaps will be addressed as they arise during the season.
– How is Mykhailenko doing? Why was he substituted so early?
– Unfortunately he felt pain in the back of his thigh. To avoid making things worse we replaced him immediately. Before the match we agreed that? if anyone feels any discomfort, they must say so right away. Our schedule has been tough, the workload heavy, so we understood the risks. The doctors warned that he had some issues but he insisted on starting. Once he felt pain, we didn’t wait. We made the change and I want to point out that Brazhko came on and played at a very high level.
– Today your team didn’t play its usual possession football, but instead used more vertical passes. Is this the influence of the new coach?
– (smiles) At this stage Maciej has been brought in only to help us with set-piece situations. That’s his area of responsibility. So let’s be careful about conclusions. Sometimes those conclusions are inaccurate – just like the story that was already written about before, which I don’t want to repeat. Let’s analyze carefully.
Once again I want to congratulate our fans. From me personally: our third star is the star of our soldiers – a mark of honor. We remember all our supporters, we thank them for their support and constructive criticism. We will do everything we can to bring them positive emotions. And to all of you I wish victories – both in small matters and big ones, and, above all, the main Victory that we all desire.
