One of the coaches of “Poltava,” Igor Timchenko, spoke about the difficulties his club faced ahead of their debut in the UPL.
Igor Timchenko. Photo - FC “Poltava”— During the off-season, news about “Poltava” in the media was accompanied by scandals. Was it hard to withstand this pressure?
— It was unpleasant to see headlines saying that we were going to be withdrawn from the UPL as soon as we defeated “Metalist” in the last round. Everyone in unison, as if on command, started promoting the message that the club would be withdrawn, disregarding the work the team had done throughout the season. All our problems stemmed from the fact that some entities in our football did not want to see us in the UPL.
— Who are you referring to?
— There were interested people and clubs who torpedoed our non-admission. Thankfully, everything is behind us now, and we are preparing.
— Don’t you think that claiming the city stadium named after Butovsky, which is reserved for “Vorskla” under exclusive rights until the end of the special period, looks disgraceful?
— Unfortunately, “Vorskla” was unyielding in its stance, forbidding us from playing our matches in our hometown. Why did they do this? That’s a question for them.
We are grateful to the stadium administration in Kropyvnytskyi, where local residents will have the opportunity to attend UPL matches.
Why wasn’t the certificate revoked from “Metalist 1925” when “Left Bank” terminated the lease agreement for the stadium with them? Double standards?
There should be equal treatment for all teams.
— Did the “Lokomotiv” stadium in Poltava have a chance of being revived?
— It does not meet the UPL requirements.
— How will you respond to critics regarding infrastructure?
— We have a plan to build our own stadium and training bases. Only a handful of UPL teams play in their own stadiums, yet somehow “Poltava” has come under scrutiny. It was also unpleasant to hear that collective farms came into the UPL, lowering the level of the championship.
We are not to blame for the current level of the UPL.
“Poltava,” from a city with a population of almost half a million, cannot be called a provincial team. The same “Epicenter” has its fans in Kamianets-Podilskyi. Let us play, and then you can draw your conclusions.
— The emergence of four First League teams in the UPL seems like an anomaly?
— There’s nothing strange about it. The level of the First League is maintained at a high level. There isn’t much money in the UPL now, and there aren’t quality legionnaires creating the difference. Look at the Cup, where “Victoria” and “Bukhovina” are playing in the key rounds. Questions should be directed to the UPL teams about how they managed to fall to this.
— How would you describe the football that “Poltava” practices?
— Aggressive football, with high pressing, pushing the opponent into the time-space constraint. Playing at maximum intensity so that the opponent cannot withstand it. This requires very hard work. Over time, only those players who can and want to do this remain in the team.
Oleksandr Karpenko
