Marcel Licka: A strong team knows how to win even in difficult matches

— I am not satisfied with our play because I know we can be better. A strong team knows how to win even in difficult matches. Our play was not good, and the opponent played very well. We were very lucky that they couldn't score. The main thing is that our team won and took three points, which allowed us to get closer to the first place.

— Akhmat showed that you have aspects to work on. Why didn't the team look solid when playing with a man advantage?

— We prepared to follow a 4-5-1 formation because I was sure that they would play very compactly in the midfield. I asked to make more use of the wings, where the full-backs would join in. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to do this very well. Another difference from the encounter a week ago was the quality of quick transitions. In these situations, we often slowed down, played backward, and then had to get past those 9 players again. When we tried to move out from our goal 2-3 times, we lacked quality – we lost the ball after one or two passes. Several situations in the last 5 minutes of the game served as a good example when we went on counterattacks 3-on-3 and made poor decisions in the final stage.

— You received a lot of praise after the game with Lokomotiv throughout the week. Did it affect the team in any way?

— I try not to read anything so that my head stays clear. We constantly talk about how important team spirit, discipline, and the need to fight for each other on the pitch are. Today before the game, I remembered the last friendly match against CSKA, where we played poorly for 80 minutes, but in the end, we managed to turn the game around. Your play might not be going well, but you have to fight until the end and you can change everything. Fortunately, today the opponent didn't use 4-5 good chances, but it showed that we still have a lot of work to do and need to keep our feet on the ground. We have to work hard in any game, no matter who the opponent is.

Today we played without Fabi and Diego, and during the week Parshivlyuk, Shunin, Fomin, and Grulev were ill, but that's still no excuse. We have more than 20 footballers in the squad, and everyone should give their all.

— Why did you choose Nicolas Marichal as a starter today instead of Milan Maistorovic?

— Nico made one mistake, while Milan has only played one full friendly match. He's starting to feel the game, but it's still difficult for him after the injury.

— Why didn't the players use active pressing, immediately go for the tackle, and often allowed the opponent to easily pass through the midfield?

— In the first half, the defense played very low, so there was a 15-meter gap between the lines of defense and midfield, which Sadulayev took great advantage of. During the break, I said that the defenders need to come out higher and attack the players with the ball. We lacked Balbuena's experience, who brings calmness and organizes the entire defensive line excellently. I don't want to say that Nico and Robby didn't try, but when Fabi is on the pitch next to them, they play more confidently themselves.

— After the match against Zenit there will be a long break. Will this be a problem for you?

— Of course, it will be unpleasant because 11 players will go to their national teams. Fortunately, this time only Chavez will fly to South America, while the other Latin Americans will be playing in Europe. That's already an advantage, because earlier, several players would arrive just before the matches, and it was very difficult for them to play after long flights.

On the other hand, it's good that there are so many internationals in our team who will have practice against very strong opponents. Of course, training is good, but such high-quality matches give a lot to the footballers. Meanwhile, we will bring in players from the second team or will work together during this period.