Taras Stepanenko: "Powerful footballers who dictated the game in attack left us, but this did not affect our ambitions"

Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Taras Stepanenko spoke about his team's mood for the new season.

“I missed football. Missed the guys. It's great to be back to work with a new coach. I think that there will be new ideas, the game will change a little. I see that coaches now focus more on the ball, on the game model. It is very nice. Very happy to be back.

Yes, we are used to the fact that we have a lot of guys from Brazil, other legionnaires. But now we have Ukrainians, and young guys will be given a great chance.

But, despite the situation, the war in our country and all the difficulties that the club has, the goals must be the highest. The powerful players who dictated the game in attack left. I won’t say that we won’t lose something from this in our ambitions: Shakhtar is Shakhtar, there are goals, traditions of the club and faith in the future. We will fight for the highest positions," Stepanenko said in a comment to the Shakhtar press service.