Shakhtar head coach Marino Pusic spoke about the team's preparation for the second part of the season and the future Europa League clash with Marseille.
"We are trying to improve our intensity of play with and without the ball. Here we have to make certain changes. Now is enough time to prepare in this segment and we will certainly take a step forward. We need to be even better in the closing phase of the attack. I believe there is more to work on.
The upcoming match against Marseille? I am happy that we play against them, because I like to play against strong teams. They have changed not only their head coach, but also their style of play, so these are all interesting moments that we have to analyse well. They have very good players, they are individually strong. It will be a very difficult match and an interesting match.
We want to stay longer in the European cups, but we are travelling a lot, spending a lot of time and energy. Of course, other teams in the Ukrainian championship have a certain advantage in terms of freshness, planning. But this should not be an excuse for us - the circumstances are difficult, yes, we travel a lot, it takes a lot of energy, but I always ask: what at this moment, under these circumstances, we can do best to get a result? I think, like every athlete, every ambitious coach, we have to go out and play to the maximum. We are going for all the trophies this season," said Pušić.
