The well-known Ukrainian coach Roman Hryhorchuk explained the unexpected defeat of Zhytomyr’s "Polissia" in the match against "Santa Coloma" (1:2) in the qualifying round of the Conference League.
Roman Hryhorchuk. Photo: chornomorets.football— We are being beaten even by a representative of Andorra....
— You know, I would... I would like to support the coaching staff and the players. For them, the most important thing right now is to win the next game. I am confident that this will happen. Everything will be fine moving forward.
Overall, I know how Rotan and his coaching staff approach team building — very systematically. At "Oleksandriya," they managed to build very serious football, but we have to understand that building such football takes time, even despite the fact that "Polissia" is very well equipped. They have colossal potential and very talented players, but even such players need time to play "Rotan’s football."
— How much time is needed?
— In my opinion, it takes about six months to build such football. Pre-season training, half a season, and winter training camps, and then in spring we will see the football that everyone at "Polissia" wants to see. God willing, it will happen sooner because, after all, there are very high-class players at Rotan’s disposal. We understand that in football, the result is needed today. And there can be no excuses. I wish for "Polissia" to win and move on. I am confident that with each week, with each month... the team will look more serious.
— In the first game against "Santa Coloma," could there have been an underestimation by the "Polissia" players?
— You know, many people do such analysis.... Well, simply put. There is a result; if the team wins — all is forgotten. They won and moved on. But if we analyze it very seriously — there should be absolute calm. Well, the team lost... We must understand that now everyone knows how to play football. From what I saw, that team is in no way weak — there are players with a great understanding of football. I liked many players and how they reacted to the situation. We cannot say that Andorra is another world. Perhaps the players thought as well, like the fans: "Well, since it’s Andorra, we’ll win 10:0, easy." Why?
Oleg Vakhotsky
