Former Poltava Vorskla midfielder Ivan Krivosheenko has reflected on what may await Zorya Luhansk in the near future in light of its problems during the current season.
- At the end of the first part of the season, Zorya slightly revived. What do you attribute it to?
- Yes, in December, the team's results improved - they got two draws, with Ruh and Kryvbas, they beat Breidablik. In Kryvyi Rih the Luhansk side were frankly lucky, but luck has yet to be earned. You can see that the game tone helped the team to get in shape. In this situation, I believe, the players are not to blame. My view, from the outside - there is a problem in management. They often change head coaches, and it is all stressful for the players, the training process changes all the time.
Probably, the activity of football agents has a bad influence on Zorya. Agents solve exclusively their own issues. I think that even now the Zorya squad is staffed with good, quality players. I believe, if Paric van Leeuwen had stayed at the helm of the team, they would continue to fight for the prize-winning places. And so "Zorya" has not played at home in Lugansk for a long time, maybe the club president is tired of football. We do not know much.
- If we talk about coaching reshuffles in Zorya. In your opinion, what will happen in the winter off-season in the club? Will they look for a new coach again?
- Yuriy Koval is a temporary figure, I think so. He is the sporting director. Bartulovic has been on the team since the summer and helps all the coaches. Maybe he should be given a chance to try his hand as a head coach. He had a good career as a player and now he's in the coaching department. But still, I think that in winter we will see a new head coach.
- What awaits Zarya in the UPL?
- It will be difficult. We have an unpredictable championship now. Any team can beat its opponent. It is important to understand whether Zorya in its current form needs its president Evgeniy Geller.
- In the current European Cup campaign, Zorya earned about 4.3 million euros. Probably, this is the club's annual budget. So there is no big financial burden on Geller...
- That's true. I know that playing in European cups is the main item of income of Luhansk "Zorya". And the sale of players, too. It is bad that the team has a lot of rented players and there is no strategy for the club development. The president of Zorya has not built a system. We do not know how Zorya will develop in the future. Under Patrick van Leeuwen there was one game, and now.... There are only questions.