Former Kharkiv Metalist 1925 player Mykyta Bezuglyi frankly explained how his former team, with its ambitious president Dmytro Nosov, top coach Viktor Skrypnyk and a number of star players, managed to get relegated from the UPL.
Mykyta Bezuglyi- The last six months have been unsuccessful for Metalist 1925. Under Skrypnyk's leadership, the team first dropped out of the UPL, and then lost a chance to return to the elite through the Tournament of Four. What do you see as the reason?
- It's very hard to say. It was a steep peak. A complete fiasco. I've been thinking about it. Maybe we didn't adapt to the specific tactics. We played a lot of diamonds. Somewhere this tactic is risky.
Nevertheless, the problem is not only in the tactics. If we lost three or four matches, it would be one thing, but we had about ten defeats. Therefore, no one is to blame for sure. Everyone is to blame: players, coaches, directors, administrators, masseurs, doctors... Everyone can take responsibility for something.
- How did the team accept Skrypnyk in general?
- Expectations were very high. He had achieved success with Zorya, and at the end of the championship before last he snatched a European Cup place with Vorskla. However, there was no result at Metalist 1925. Everything turned out to be a blur. It was not a very good period. When you lose a lot, you can't expect anything good.
- Did the team fully understand the requirements of the new coach?
- Well, I don't know. We had to run quite a lot in different positions. So, maybe some players were not very used to it. They needed time to adapt. It seems to me that the situation was improving with each match, but something was missing.
It is worth saying that no matter how much you play in training camps, the championship is completely different. Everything is punished much faster there. Opponents are more motivated and can deviate from their tactics. At the training camp, some teams played passing, and in the championship they relied on martial arts, the first ball, rebounds and aggressive play.
Perhaps we lacked aggression in our forward actions. We were told about this even before Skrypnyk. We controlled the ball, but when we got to the goal, we didn't shoot, didn't attack the penalty area. We started passing back to the goalkeeper and all that. Skrypnyk tried to fix it, but, as you can see, it didn't work either.
- Were there any problems with your character?
- There were quite a few matches when we conceded first, and maybe we didn't believe in a strong-willed victory. We could have equalized, but we didn't have enough for more. After conceding a goal, the team would get discouraged.
- During the season, Skrypnyk changed the positions of many players on the field. How comfortable were the players and did it have a negative impact on the result?
- To be honest, I haven't talked to everyone about this topic. Personally, I tried to adapt. My main role is center back. I feel best there. The flanks of the defense have their own nuances, but if the team needs me, I can also cover these positions. During my time with Metalist 1925, I played all four positions in defense.
There are no wingers in Skrypnyk's tactics. Therefore, if a winger is moved closer to the center, he will have less time to make decisions there. Maybe someone was not very comfortable. However, these are my personal thoughts. I repeat, I did not ask anyone about this.
- At some point in the second part of the season, did you realize that everything was going wrong?
- To be honest, we all said that we needed a victory and everything would go well. However, we defeated Vorskla 3-2 and in the next match, unfortunately, lost to Chornomorets 0-3. My red card played a role. If we had won, we would have had a better chance of saving ourselves.
I think when we couldn't win three or four games, we started to feel that everything was going wrong.
- Was there any tension between the newcomers who came with Skrypnyk and the old-timers?
- Maybe there was, I don't know. When eminent players came to the team, a lot was expected of them, as well as of Skrypnyk. Experience shows that it is not a fact that status players will play at a different level. The difference in skill may not be very noticeable.
- How did you prepare for the Tournament of Four?
- We also had changes in the summer. The coach invited some more big-name good players. We expected them to help us improve the situation, so we approached the tournament with hope. Unfortunately, nothing has changed for us.
Since the competition was approved at the last minute, we were delayed in our training camp. It was unclear when, where and with whom we would play. Because of this, we could not even have a normal weekend. We decided that for the sake of such a chance, we could suffer. Still, there was an opportunity to win a couple of matches and return to the UPL, rather than staying in the First League for a whole year.
- What was the situation with Skrypnyk after the match against Left Bank (1-1, penalties 4-5)?
- He immediately went into the locker room, shook hands with everyone and said he would resign. He said: "This is also an experience, thank you all for your work." He packed his things and left. Skrypnyk's assistants didn't even know anything. At first, they thought he was being emotional. It turned out that he was serious.
- Did any of the team try to influence Skrypnyk to change his mind?
- I know that Maksym Imerekov, as captain, called him to find out what the situation was. In the end, as we can see, this call had no effect. Probably, Skrypnyk was already fed up with the lack of results, and he had made up his mind. In my opinion, even if we had asked him to stay as a team, we would not have been able to change anything.
- How do you see Metalist 1925's prospects in the First League?
- The opponents at Metalist 1925 will be in a completely different mood. This is a very powerful team in terms of finances and player selection. Now they have a coach who has won bronze medals in Ukraine. They will be played against like Shakhtar in the UPL - in a low block.
It is also worth mentioning that the First League has less quality pitches than the UPL. This will play in favor of Kharkiv's opponents, because van Leeuwen instills a quick passing game in his players. All of this will make it difficult for Metalist 1925 to create scoring chances and, accordingly, reduce their chances of winning.
Therefore, understanding these factors, it is very difficult to predict what the result will be.
Dmytro Venkov
