You used a lot of energy, both physically and mentally last week, do you have anything left for the final home match of the year with Dynamo Moscow?
This is the most important issue for us at the moment and we have to solve it and look at our mental and physical fatigue, injuries and bans. Together we are looking at what we can do and what we can change so that we end the year on a high. Every day we monitor at the physical and mental state of the players.
Do you know which players are definitely out?
Quite a lot are doubtful but I can’t say which are 100% out, and a number of players are 90% out. but we are still hopeful of some pleasant surprises.
Dynamo have looked good recently, what do you think of their team?
Yes, they are undefeated in their last six matches and have had some good wins over the top teams in the league. We are expecting a very tough match against a very good team. Their team are in a good place mentally looking at their recent results. We are expecting a very difficult match.
Since Dynamo changed head coach they’ve begun to win a lot of points, what’s the reason for this?
This is the main thing and when a team wins points, the mental state of the players improves and I think their players are in high spirits. The team has changed, they played three central defenders and now in recent games they are back to four defenders. They have options depending on the players available, let's see how Dynamo play against us.
Andrey Lunev will be part of the Fan Promenade for an autograph session with the fans at the Gazprom Arena. What is his injury status?
His condition is improving and I hope that soon he’ll be back in peak condition and training with the first team.
A question about Malcolm, has he really gone back to Brazil? What is his injury condition?
Everything is going according to the plan. One of our trainers is going to Brazil now and will work with him individually. Malcolm will return from the winter holidays two weeks earlier than the rest of the squad, to train on an individual bases with the coaching staff. I hope that by the first full training session he will be back with the first team.
You’re 8 points ahead in the league but have Benfica coming up on Tuesday, will you be thinking of the UEFA Champions League game on Friday?
No, we should only be thinking about Dynamo Moscow. Of course, there are certain things that we must think about, but for now, we are only preparing and focusing on the match with Dynamo.
How do you feel about the 8 point gap?
It’s a large amount, but it guarantees absolutely nothing. It's nice to win and break away from the chasing pack, but we all know how many points you need to score and how many matches we need to win in order to become Russian champions. We are not thinking about the gap, we only think about how to play as well as we possibly can in the next match and get the win.
Yordan Osorio has played four times more matches in the Champions League than in the RPL. Will we see him on Friday, as Rakitskyi is suspended for the game with Benfica?
We are not looking at the game with Dynamo as a warm-up for Benfica. They are two totally different games and It’s possible he will play, just like many other players. First, we will see who is available for the match against Dynamo and then see who is in the starting lineup.
