Jovicevic: First Minaj, and then we will think about Celtic
Shakhtar head coach Igor Jovicevic analyzed the match against Kolos (3-0).
– Shakhtar has a busy calendar, and today there was a rotation of the squad. Are you satisfied with the way the players showed themselves?
– We have to take into account a busy schedule, but we have a fairly large roster of players who are able to solve problems in every match. We consider the opponent's profile and then choose a squad, dose substitutions and loads. Overall, it turned out to be a tense match. We expected a tough game and so it happened. There were problems at the beginning of the first half when not everything worked out the way we intended. However, some adjustments during the break helped. In the second half, we dominated, controlled the game and I think we fully deserved that win. We could have scored a few more goals. The players who entered the rotation today appeared in the second half. They all felt that it was important, that this was a team that goes step by step, fulfilling their tasks. Plus, Dnipro-1 played a draw, which gives us confidence in the struggle for the first place. This is the position we want to be on, and these are the ambitions we do not hide. For that, we must have the right mentality, improve our abilities and work every day to be on a high note. We can say that this is a very important victory, but it was earned and tense. The opponent is strong in defense and misses little, but we played a good match today and deservedly won.
– When can we expect the return of Marian Shved?
– High hopes that tomorrow he will train with the team. His adductor muscle no longer bothers him – this is the first day, yesterday and today it ceased to bother him even in case of direction change. And it makes me happy as a coach, because I understand perfectly well how important he is to our team. His winger characteristics, which are very uncomfortable for any lateral, and his diversity in the attack phase are currently very lacking. The team needs such highly qualified players in every match, so we look forward to his return. I think he will be in the general group the day after tomorrow. Let's see if he can play a certain period of time against Minaj in order to fully prepare for Celtic.
– How do you plan to set up the team for the match with Celtic?
– You know, we have to respect every opponent who opposes us. I think Minaj deserves complete respect. Moreover, we see that they have good results now: they played well against Dynamo. We play on the road, so we will see what the field will be. And, of course, after such a busy schedule, there is a certain fatigue. However, as I said, champions should have this mentality: forget about everything, project success in their heads, and move on. So we don't even think about Celtic – we think about Minaj, about how to beat them and be in the standings where we want, where we deserve to be and what we work for. First Minaj, and then we will think about other games.
