Mircea Lucescu: "Without a player like Yarmolenko, it's hard to manage the team"

Former Dynamo head coach Mircea Lucescu, who resigned after the defeat to Shakhtar (0:1), told what difficulties he faced in the Bilo-Syni camp recently.

"It was a delicate situation. A month ago, we had a six-point lead against Shakhtar and were going straight to the championship. Unfortunately, Yarmolenko got injured. He had to undergo surgery in Barcelona. He was out of action for four months. He was the only experienced player who could implement the ideas of the coach. Without such a player it is very difficult to lead the team. When you have more players like that, it's even better. I lost him.

In almost every match we had one player suspended. In the last few minutes we conceded two silly goals. Dynamo has a very young defence. This is normal. Players are tight, such phenomena happen in football, and you do not know what to do. We lost three games in a row. Under these circumstances, I took full responsibility and said it's normal. The coach is always responsible for the result. Let me be the one to resign and in a way save the team," Lucescu said.