Former striker of Dynamo Kyiv Maxim Shatskikh commented on his appointment as the head coach of Pakhtakor Tashkent.
- First of all, I want to congratulate you on your appointment to a new position. A little over a month ago, we talked about your appointment as the sports director of Pakhtakor, and then you talked about your ambitions to work as a coach. What events nevertheless influenced your appointment to a new position?
— Leadership decision. I was not satisfied with the game, the result, the fulfillment of the tasks that were set for the team. It all slowly piled up. I didn't influence it in any way.
— Your predecessor — Slavce Vojneski — had a contract until the end of the year. The team is now in the top 3 and is fighting for the championship. What tasks did he not cope with?
- As far as I know, the first call was the failure in the Champions League "(Pakhtakor scored six points in six games at the group stage of the Asian Champions League and took last place in the group — ed.). Still, some hopes were pinned on the Champions League, the task was to get out of the group, and it was not completed.
Also, as far as I know, there was also something inside the team, a not quite normal situation in the team was established. Well, the physical condition of the team - some questions also arose. All this affected the game and everything else.
- Slavce Voineski had a contract for only a year, was he initially considered as a temporary coach?
- This is probably not a question for me, since I didn’t delve into it, how much they had it there - temporarily or not. As far as I know, there was a change in leadership and various nuances and questions arose.
The current leadership paid off with rather big old debts, all this happened in that period. Therefore, such a situation turned out, not as the management would like.
Because of this, big changes gradually began in the club and in the coaching staff, and in the academy, all the structures of the club are affected by this.
- Have you completely resigned from the position of sports director? Or will you somehow combine?
- Temporarily, we decided not to fill this position, we will continue to see how it all develops. Naturally, I will also carry out my previous duties, when I do not have two workouts a day, I will continue as much as possible.
- What tasks did the management of Pakhtakor set for you?
- Tasks are always maximum, just like Dynamo (Kyiv) in Ukraine. Pakhtakor is the flagship of Uzbek football, the most titled club, the top club in the country, with the longest history. Therefore, there were no other tasks and will not be.
The initial task is to get out of the Champions League group. And then we will continue to see how we can compete in the Asian Champions League.
- Have you already started the training process?
— Yes, we have been working for almost a week. There was a pause, and now we have such a mini-gathering between laps. The first game of the second round starts on the first of August, and we will finish the second round without a pause.
— As far as I understand, your transfer window is still open. Do you plan to sign someone from Ukraine?
— Yes, until July 31. We work in all directions, Ukraine is no exception. In the current situation, you understand, everything is getting more complicated now - who is where, plus the quality of the players.
Therefore, we work in all areas: a lot of offers, a lot of options. Every day I have to look at 20-30 candidates, study, learn and everything else.
- Will you have a boost before the end of the transfer window?
— Yes, definitely.
- There are five people in your coaching staff at the moment (Vitaly Shpanyuk, Vyacheslav Belyaev, Denis Ivankov, Kamoliddin Tozhiev, Yuri Siyanov). Will you recruit someone else or will you work with this squad until the end of the season?
- I am not sure, let see what will happen. Along the way, we will look - who is missing, what is missing, what is missing. There are some more thoughts, let's see how it will be possible to implement them.
Andrey Shevchenko