The head coach of Dynamo Oleksandr Shovkovskyi spoke with media representatives on the eve of the return leg of the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round against Hamrun Spartans.
- How ready is the team for the season? Is the team 100% ready or still building up form?
- First of all I’d like to say that the team is preparing well. However, claiming we are 100% ready wouldn’t be true - there isn’t yet enough match practice to say we’ve reached peak form. It would be unrealistic to expect a team to be at its maximum right at the start of the season.
Certainly, there is room for improvement, and in every game - regardless of the result - we aim to do our utmost, put into practice everything we’ve worked on, and take every opportunity to achieve positive results.
- After the first leg the Maltese coach said the tie isn’t over and that his players believe anything is possible. Do you feel there’s a risk of underestimating your opponent? Did the Italian coach’s words affect your motivation?
- Prior to the first match I already noted that one of our opponent’s strengths is their Italian coach, who manages the team skillfully and dictates their style of play. They demonstrated this by overturning a 0:2 deficit against Zalgiris and advancing to the next round.
We evaluate every opponent based on their quality, tactical setup and strengths - but ultimately our goal is to play our own football. Every match starts at 0:0 and it’s essential to remember that. We expect each player in our squad of 28-29 to prove themselves when selected in the starting lineup - not just show ambitions but be ready to deliver the necessary performance.
- What’s the situation with injuries? Ahead of the first leg a few players were unavailable - what about now?
- Unfortunately we have two definite absences. Valentyn Rubchynskyi continues treatment, and due to a relapse of his Achilles injury, he cannot help us in the coming weeks - possibly up to a month.
Angel Torres is still recovering and will return to the group only once his rehabilitation timeline is complete.
Vitalii Buialskii is also unavailable for this match due to injury, and to prevent aggravation, we have excluded him from the squad.
