Hryhorchuk: Game with Qarabag FC cannot be called "seasonal game" - INTERVIEW

Baku. 8 February. REPORT.AZ/ Report News Agency presents an interview with the head coach of Gabala FC, Roman Hryhorchuk:

- After the winter break your first game in Azerbaijan Premier League (APL) will be against Qarabag FC. How is the preparatory process going?

- I think we will be able to enter the stadium (laughs). Let’s see what happens next.

- The football community sees this as a season game. Do you agree with that?

- Strategically, it is important game. But in my opinion it cannot be called a "seasonal game”. Because there will still be 13 matches. This means 39 points. I would not overestimate the importance of the meeting. But it is an important match.

- During the winter break, players such as Andy Halliday, Dave Bulthuis, Ekigho Ehiosun, Tellur Mutallimov left the team, but you only took Tamkin Khalilzade to the team. Did transfers that you wished not happen?

- We need new players. I would like to take striker. We do our best to find such a player.The absence of such a player would be a negative factor for us.

- You have expressed your dissatisfaction with the team after losing to Macedonia's Shkëndija FC at 0:2 in Antalya. What did you discuss with the players about this?

- I can be very dissatisfied in this or that game. But this does not mean that dissatisfaction can always be the subject of discussion. This is an integral part of the training. We conduct the necessary analyzes. But I do not want to talk about them. We can talk about more formal games.

- What are the problems with the squad? Javid Huseynov does not participate in training, because he is ill...

- Of course, absence of any player is a negative factor for the team. Javid's illness is also very bad. But we do not have focus narrowly on this. The team wanting to achieve great results should not feel the absence of one player. Our team must be complemented in such way that changing a player should not have a negative impact on the result. Of course, this is the ideal case. At the moment we have not been set up as we want. 

- Can the absence of Dino Ndlovu, transferred to the Chinese club during the winter break, be considered a serious loss for Qarabag?

- I do not think it is right to discuss the Qarabag’s transfer issue. I am responsible for my team.

- There is a difference of 6 points between Qarabag and your team. The points you will get on the tour are of great importance. What do you think can change the fate of the match?

- We need to be strong. It's so simple: the strongest will win.