Yesterday the Miners suffered a crushing defeat from Atalanta in the Champions League (0:3)
Sports director Shakhtar Darijo Srna gave an assessment of the start of the season in the team’s performance, and also spoke about the credibility of the head coach of the Miners, Marino Pusic.
“What is the reason that Shakhtar played two matches without scoring goals in the Champions League? The reason is everyone. Everyone must do the analysis and draw conclusions – all together as a team. And everyone must accept responsibility. The first one is me, and then everyone else. We played against a very strong team on the road. Shakhtar fans don’t like to lose. I believe that you need to lose like a man, playing like a miner.”
“We have an unpleasant situation now. Firstly, there is a 6-point gap in the championship. There are still 6 games in the Champions League. We need to draw conclusions, take responsibility for everyone and move on.”
“Message to Shakhtar fans? I am also a Shakhtar fan. I work for Shakhtar, I love this club and I suffer more than anyone else. The message is simple – the fans are unhappy. They have the right to criticize and be dissatisfied, but on the other hand, last year we were not in the best situation, but in the end everything turned out well. We believe in this team, in the coaching staff. We need to make an analysis, draw conclusions and move on.”
“Has the credibility of the head coach changed after the 0:3 defeat to Atalanta? No, the coach has complete trust and support.”
Shakhtar scored only one point in two opening matches of the Champions League. In the overall standings, the Miners are now in 27th place out of 36, which does not give them the right to qualify for the playoffs of the tournament.
In the UPL, Shakhtar occupies only 4th place in the standings, having won four victories in seven matches (with a draw against Veres and defeats in matches with Polesie and Oleksandriya).
Marino Pusic’s team will play their next match in the UPL on October 6 against LNZ.
Source: Sportarena
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
