Onhis Telegram channel, journalist Piotr Slonka posted a short interview with Oleksandr Khatskevich after his Zaglemba team's0-0 win overPodbeskidze.
- When we last spoke, you were the coach of Dynamo Kyiv, in the Europa League. Now you are working in the last team of the Polish First League. Isn't it a degradation?
- No, we are not talking about any coaching degradation. Because this is still football. Yes, football in Poland is very specific, and I can't say that the first league is too different from the Extra-Class. Sosnowiec has great, really good conditions. The infrastructure is in place for this club to play in the Extra-Class. Why is Zaglembe last? We need to change the mentality and many other things, because in the end it is the players who create the result, and that's why I'm here. I can't say that once there was a Europa League, and now there is a second tier in Poland. There are different stages and challenges in a coaching career.
- When you took over Zagłębie, you knew the situation, that the team was last in the table. Do you really believe in service? Or did the club tell you that you needed to build a foundation for the second league?
- No, there were no discussions about the legacy at all, they are forbidden here. As long as there are chances for points, and we still have 36 possible points, we are thinking about the first league. We need a series of wins, we need to prepare from match to match. There is no big difference between the teams that were at the top of the table and those we have already played. Of course, we still need some luck, but at the moment we don't think we can fall.
- How long did you sign the contract for?
- We agreed until the end of the season, because the conditions were as follows. 19 games played, 11 points scored, the squad changed in the winter. Almost 70-80% are new players. You can't turn back time, but there is still time until the end of the season. I think that now we will progress with every match. Both in terms of style of play and points.
- You have noticed that there are many new players. Have you heard that the main question raised by fans and journalists in Poland when talking about Zagłębie was that the club has become a ProStar team? That this agency has started to employ its players here?
- But do you know that this is a normal practice all over the world? Now let's do the maths: Shevchenko is really in ProStar. Polarus and Sukhotskyi are too. Dovgy is not. Janota is not either. So we have three ProStar players. Is that so many? So this is just an assumption, I understand where they are coming from.
- It was said that a sports director came with you, also an employee of the same agency.
- This sporting director worked for BATE, in Belarus, and is not affiliated with ProStar. I don't have a contract with ProStar. These details are not important to me because I need quality players quickly in this short time. So there is no point in worrying about rumours, we are not a ProStar team.
- In your last interview, I heard that you had problems with your passport and visa because you were in the Czech Republic and it said that there was no war in Belarus and you could return to the country. Later, there was information that Zaglembe did not go to Turkey because Belarus might want you to return.
- I already have a residence card in Poland. Well, first of all, the Polish side gave me all the documents I needed to stay and work. A residence permit, that's what it's called. So legally, according to all the documents, I have no more problems. As for Turkey, well, I thought about it myself. I think the management preferred not to take any risks. Now there is an extradition agreement between Turkey and Belarus, but I am not a bandit and not a person who harms Belarus.
- Finally, do you follow football in Ukraine?
- For example, today, before our match, I watched Zorya vs Oleksnadria, and I also watched Obolon-Dnipro-1. I watch Dynamo Kyiv. Of course, if I have time, I am happy to watch the UPL and I am very glad that the League is playing in Ukraine again. It is very important. Plus, the return of fans to the stands. Well, in the situation this country is in now, it is very important.