Ihor Surkis: "The players were happy to hear the news of Shovkovskyi's appointment"

After the home match against Obolon, in which the White and Blues won 2-0, Dynamo President Ihor Surkis shared his impressions of the match and summed up the first part of the season.

- We are going on holiday with the feeling that we have not done everything, in particular, we have not qualified for the European Cups, although this was Dynamo's task. At the same time, we won four matches in a row under Oleksandr Shovkovskyi.

Now he is the head coach without the prefix "acting". He knows how to set up the team, he is a Dynamo man by nature, so both I and the fans hope that everything will be fine and we will become champions in the second part of the season.

- So, at the training camp, Oleksandr Shovkovskyi will lead the team as a full-fledged head coach?

- Yes, he will. He is the head coach of Dynamo Kyiv as of today. Three minutes ago I told the guys in the locker room.

- How did they take the news? What was their reaction?

- Very good. The team has a great atmosphere. The guys were happy to hear the news and applauded. I feel that everything will be fine after the winter break. I congratulated everyone on the upcoming holidays, the New Year, wished them health, all the best, and most importantly, peace in our country, in all homes, so that this aggression by our enemy would finally end.

- The match against Obolon was eventful, there were penalties and sending offs...

- It was very emotional. From the first minutes it was clear that Obolon came out to play for a draw. This is the kind of football we played in the 90s, when opponents thought only about defence and did not think about attacking at all. It's very difficult to break down such a defence, although there were players of a different calibre before, but, again, it was not easy for them either. Of course, every coach chooses the tactics he likes.

Personally, I don't like this kind of football. I like an open style of play, like, for example, in the recent match against Metalist 1925, which attacked itself. And Obolon came out to fulfil some of their tasks.

- What are the team's plans for the near future?

- The guys are going on holiday, then on 12 January they will gather at the base, undergo a medical examination, go to Turkey and prepare for the second part of the season. The training camp will last until 15-17 February.