Congratulations on your birthday, how are you feeling and what are you thinking about, how did the team congratulates you today?
In life, my aim is always the same, to change for the better. At work, we have to get the best results we can. The team congratulated me in the usual way, and we had our typical birthday tunnel.
Will you have the chance to celebrate your birthday?
No, we don’t make allowances for this.
How do you rate this winter’s Gazprom Training Camp overall? Are you satisfied with the work done? What did you pay special attention to?
It’s not been easy for both the players and the coaching staff, but I think we can be pleased with the work we did. We've done everything we wanted to as we prepare for the season. It’s one thing to prepare and play friendlies, quite another to play official games. We have to be ready for different situations, and be prepared for every condition, the match readiness of the players might be unstable at first, and we need to play several competitive matches to be totally tuned in to the resumption of the season. We will train hard and do everything we can.
How ready are the new signings for the season? Are they part of the team and do they understand what you want of them?
They’re part of the team and we’re happy with them. To be 100% ready they’ll need more than a month. I think that by the start of next season they’ll have got totally used to the team and our training methods. We are pleased with how the lads are training and how they feel in the team.
What are your plans for the final days in Abu Dhabi. Are they dedicated to preparing for Spartak?
No. We don’t have any specific training planned. We are preparing for that game, but we have many matches ahead of us, and we must be ready for all our opponents.