Shakhtar sporting director Darijo Srna responded to the information about Patrick van Leeuwen's possible resignation in a commentary for Tribuna.com.
Darijo Srna- Would you comment on the rumours that have been in the media about the possible resignation of Patrick van Leeuwen?
- Firstly, there have always been, are and will be rumours. Of course, we are not satisfied with the last matches - both in terms of results and the quality of play. But today we saw the real Shakhtar. In life, you always need time. We know where we are moving. I have already told you after Porto that I take all the blows from the fans, as far as the sporting part is concerned. I take all the criticism on myself. I believe in the team, I believe in the coaching staff and I believe in our result.
Today, football fans should applaud our team for the second half. We play not only for Shakhtar - we play for the whole Ukraine, for the football coefficient, which we need by blood. Therefore, today we can applaud our players, who came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 with a crazy game and dedication.
- So Patrick has the credibility and you have confidence in him?
- We have a coach - yesterday, today and tomorrow. That's Patrick van Leeuwen. What someone wrote... No-one has ever spoken to anyone. Igor Tudor is my friend, but I've never talked to him about Shakhtar. It's not nice to write such rubbish on the game day.
Today we should celebrate the victory and move on. The second half showed what Shakhtar can and should be. With such a team and with such a game we have everything ahead of us.
- After the match against Antwerp, have you already had a chance to talk to Rinat Akhmetov? Is he satisfied with such a game?
- I talk to the president every day several times. We know where we are going. Shakhtar fans should criticise when things go badly, but they should also compliment the team when everything works out. Criticism is not a bad thing at all.
The president and Patrick and I communicate every day. Today we are very happy. The Champions League is very important for us. Now we are in third place in the group. It is very important for Ukrainian football. As for the Ukrainian championship, we have everything ahead of us. We believe in our work and in our game. I will repeat once again. If Shakhtar have such an attitude as in the second half, we can not worry about the UEFA coefficient and Ukrainian football.
