You had a busy day today with two friendly matches and two wins.
The most important thing is that we were able to play these games, we had a number of players absent for various reasons and so we made some unusual changes. Pogorelov had to play both in the first and second match, but I think it's a pleasure to play for the first team and can only be a positive.
T matches were both different today. In the morning game we had a good first half and the second was more difficult, there was a lot of mistakes and the young guys often made errors, but this is understandable and they played today after a difficult training session and were not ready to play the entire match. When the legs are heavy, the match can become scrappy.
The second game was more valuable. I think this was because we had more players who are good on the ball in this match. The ball held up better and the game was more solid. There were mistakes, but the most important thing is that today we were able to play almost two full matches.
We asked the opposition if they were happy to play halves of 40 minutes instead of 45 and we’re happy to have done that and finished the first half of our training camp. Tomorrow we’ll have one recovery training session and then prepare for our final friendly match with Ural. Then we’ll have a short break so they guys can rest.
Two Zenit-2 players have joined the camp, Saba Sazonov and Mikhail Pogorelov. They haven’t had much training time but played today. How would you rate their performances?
They were good, both of them and that’s despite all the difficulties you mentioned. Arriving flying here they’ve only had one day with the team and both played well. Pogorelov made a good pass in the build-up to the first goal and Sazonov looked confident today. The guys are great and they’ve quickly got involved in their job.
How would you rate your opponents today? Especially in how they pressured and defended against Zenit.
It’s hard to say. Probably, we played better in the second match where our defenders and midfielders played very well. It was hard to get the ball off us and so Shakhtyor retreated more. In the morning, especially in the second half, we worked on our defensive positional play and it was not possible to attack as we would have liked. Pakhtakor pressed high and in the second half, with fresh players on the pitch, the difference in readiness was clear to see. Plus, with fatigue setting-in, the amount of mistakes was too high and we saw a poor second half in the first game.
Khotulev played alongside Lovren. Why did you decide to pair them together?
Khotulev and Prokhin need to gain experience, so Khotulev played with Lovren to gain confidence, while Chistyakov and Prokhin also played together for the same reason.
Was Driussi's absence due to injury?
Yes, he has a slight knock and I hope by our next game he will have recovered and be available to play, at least some minutes.
How would you rate Krapukhin's performances today? What does he need to do to get closer to the first team?
He needs to train. But not in terms of dedication and the intensity, which he has in training and gives his best. He needs to work on his technique, on tactics and finishing. There is a lot of work to be done, but I can say anything about his dedication and his ability to work hard, he is a great guy.
