There weren't many games like today's in my career. At almost the start of the match we found ourselves 2-0 down which made it very difficult. We started very nervously, made a lot of mistakes and showed a lack of confidence. It's good that in the second half we turned everything around, we showed character and won an important victory. The result is consistent with what happened on the field. Rostov created nothing except for the two moments when they scored. 

What do you think about Giuliano's debut? 

The first thing I will say is that Giuliano's performance changed the rhythm of the game. He played very fast, passed the ball, he changed the focus of attack from flank to flank, he did everything and created fear in the opposition's defence. I would like to mention his bravery, The way he took the penalty, he picked up the ball in his hands and did not allow anyone else to take it. That rarely happens on a debut, that a new player will take a penalty at such a crucial moment. Criscito was supposed to be the penalty taker, but he was subbed and I hadn't appointed anyone else. Giuliano's courage is reason that we scored the first goal. 

Giuliano and Djordjevic came on as subs, would you have done the same if the match was different? 

I had planned for Giuliano, but did not know when he would come on. Perhaps it would have been at the end of the second half. Today, was unique for his debut. As for Djordjevic, we needed a fast attacking player who gets in the penalty area. In the first half, other than Kokorin, only Witsel got in the box. What we didn't see in the first half came in the second, a lot of passing to the wings, Djordjevic responded to this and had two chances, one just flew past him. It wouldn't surprise me if he scored all three goals and there were chances.

What led to the Zenit mistakes in the first half? What are you most happy with? 

With regard to our mistakes, they were the result of pressure, we haven't won or scored in two games. This was felt by the players, too many unforced errors were made. They are experienced players but allowed simple situations to occur. We had the advantage and were dictating the game, but in the final third were not as quick as should have been, so I decided to put on high-tempo players. What I like is the fact that the team attacked throughout the 45 minutes of the second half and got positive results. Equally we used both wings and the opponent struggled in dealing with this at the back.

After the last home match the club management came into the dressing room and gave you a Russian hat. Today, they also went in the back after the match. Have they given you something else or spoke about something?

The entire Zenit leadership feels that now is a delicate time and they wanted to be there with the team after the match and were really pleased. I think they are just like us, they suffered during that game, but at the end they were as thrilled as we were, so went they came to dressing room and congratulated everyone, including me.