Andriy Shevchenko: “Five days to prepare for the match with the Czech Republic I consider the optimal term”

12.10.2018 20:17

The head coach of the national team of Ukraine Andriy Shevchenko answered the questions of the media at a press conference on the eve of the open training session at the USC Metalist in Kharkiv.

- I want to appeal to the fans, - Andriy Shevchenko started the conversation, - we really need support in the game with the Czech Republic. I hope there will be a full stadium. We are counting on the twelfth player. We are very happy to be here in Kharkiv. The national team of Ukraine has not played in this city for a long time. I hope with your support we will show good football.

- Did you have a conversation with Kulach and what was your future fate in the Lunin national team?

- There was a conversation with Kulach, we thanked him for joining us. Unfortunately, we lost several players, so it was very important to find a player who could create competition, and we found him in the person of Kulach. Vladislav looked very good in the last matches for Vorskla, he gained international experience in them. I hope he will help us.

Regarding Lunin - today he will take part in the match of the youth team, and tomorrow he will return to us. We will also look at the dynamics of recovery of our players who have injuries. If necessary, we will call up the players from the "youth".

- In what condition is Yarmolenko?

- Andriy will take part in the warm-up today, he has an individual program. If all goes well, he will start full training tomorrow.

Makarenko also suffered minor damage. Today he will also practice warm-up, and tomorrow we will determine him and the other players who have micro-injuries. Tomorrow will be more serious work, we will be preparing directly to the nearest rival.

- Tell us more about the preparation for the match.

- We will hold a training session today, look at the condition of the players, determine their number, who will stay to work. Tomorrow - two classes, then move on to one workout a day. We will wait for the game Slovakia - Czech Republic and we will directly prepare for our match.

- How has the Czechs' game changed with the new coach?

- Tomorrow's match of the Czechs will give us all the information. Based on the results of the game of our opponents, we will build our own training.  

- Is it a plus for us that the national team of Ukraine has extra days to train compared to the Czech Republic?

- I consider five days to prepare after the match with Italy to be the optimal time. Both the Italians and we were comfortable playing on the 10th. 

- When do you plan to decide on the lineup for the game with the Czech Republic?

- Now we have time. These five days give us the opportunity to look at the condition of the players. After today's and tomorrow's training we will see what looks better, who has recovered and who has not. 

- Did the game with Italy give you additional information about your wards?

- We tried to give playing time to those players who played less, some of them came on the field. I am pleased with the result. There were two different halves. In the second team acted more compactly and productively, there were good segments in the first.

There was little time to prepare for the match with Italy, now we hope to work more productively. It's time to remember the old connections. There are some developments for the game against the Czech Republic.

- Are you planning more serious rivals in friendly matches like Italy?

- The stronger the opponent, the better for the team, but it is not always possible to agree. In November we will have a match against Turkey in Dnipro. This is also a very worthy opponent. In such matches we will try to give a chance to those players who were previously less involved.