The head coach of the White-Blues Marcel Licka answered journalists' questions after the derby with Lokomotiv (0:0).
— The second consecutive round brings a 0:0 draw. Is it good or bad for you?
— It would be better for me to win one game and lose the other, because that way we would have more points. I am happy that we kept the clean sheet in the third consecutive match, taking into consideration that Lokomotiv have very skilled players in the attacking group. But it's too bad that we didn't score again. We will try and work on it. I will need to invent new exercises so that our attackers score more often.
— What else worried you in the match against Lokomotiv?
— In the first half, we played quite passively in defense – we needed to meet our opponents more aggressively in the midfield. We can say that only Diego was doing it. In attack, our three footballers played too wide, and there was poor interaction between them. We also had few shots from 18-20 meters – something that Slava Grulev did by the end of the game.
— What needs to be changed in attack in order to regain effectiveness? Have you thought about changing any combinations in the attacking group?
— Of course, there is always an option to return to 4-2-3-1 scheme, as it was at the beginning of the season, when Smolov played under Tyukavin and we scored several goals per game. We are constantly looking for optimal variants in training, working out some aspects. We have to think, search, try and work. It is impossible to create dangerous chances without a good play in the final 25-30 meters of the pitch.
— What can you say about your meeting with Denis Makarov? Are you satisfied with his performance today?
— After the weekend, we talked to him in a friendly way. I told him my opinion, why I gave him an extra weekend. It wasn't linked with his bad attitude to training process. I explained to him what I didn't like about his play. Today he went out for 45 minutes, tried, ran and had good actions. I want my players to come off the bench with such a desire, willingness to fight and show me that I can count on them.
— How is Daniil Fomin's recovery going? When will he be available?
— When he returned from the national team, he said that the pain was not as severe as it was the first time. Unfortunately, on Thursday he tried to start simple exercises, but five minutes later he came to the physiotherapist. I think he still needs 2-3 days of individual work, after which we will look at his condition. I am not sure that he will be ready for the game against Ural.
— How did you initially come up with the idea to put Diego Laxalt in the midfield and leave Dmitry Skopintsev on the left wing?
— In Italy, Diego played not only as a defensive midfielder, but even higher. Fomin is a quite different player and next to him he needs a footballer who will help him in defense. After the match against Krasnodar, I asked Diego if he wanted to return to this position, and his eyes lit up. He said he would be able to play with the ball more there. I really like how he looks in this position. We really missed him in the games against Akhmat and Fakel. Diego wins a lot of tackles. In addition, he sees the pitch well and always tries to play forward with the second touch when intercepting, while the opponent's defense has not yet had time to rebuild. Diego has become a very important player for us in the midfield.