“The players didn’t run because they had a long time without the ball.”

Shakhtar Head Coach Luiša Kaštru gave a press conference in Mönchengladbach after the defeat in the Champions League game against Borussia M (0: 4).

– Mr Castro, what is it that makes Shakhtar play so slow for two consecutive Champions League games? Only at the end were there shots on goal.

– Today there were two completely different halves. The first, where we made mistakes, especially in set pieces, we conceded corners and free kicks. This did not work out well for us, but we knew that the game did not end in the 45th minute. I felt that the team was still influenced by what happened in the game against Borussia in Kiev. A difficult result for us. If in the first game in Ukraine the score 0: 6 reflected what happened on the field, then today, when we had 53% of the ball possession, 5 corners against 4, 138 of our attacks and 101 Borussia, 38 attacks dangerous each, 6 shots from Borussia »On target and 4 goals scored. Therefore, I believe that the result does not reflect today’s game. We could do much more.

– Tyson didn’t fly to Germany. His official sources report that he is injured. What is the probability that we will see Tyson in the last two games of the Champions League group stage?

– Only the medical department can respond more specifically to the question of whether Tyson will be able to perform in the next two games. Our hopes and expectations, of course, are that he will return soon. There are things that are out of our control: suspensions, injuries, everything that happens during this volatile season. It is very difficult to act.

Some players fly away from injuries, others from coronavirus, there are guys who arrive at the team location only on the eve of matches. It is very difficult to have stability in the team this year. I hope Tyson comes back as soon as possible, like Konoplyanka, Khocholava, Ismaily, Kornienko, everyone who is hurt now. When we are more, we will always be closer to victories, we will always be stronger.

– During the break, the official UEFA website gave statistics: Borussia players ran 3 more kilometers. After the game, this stat increased to 8 kilometers. Does this indicate a difference in playing styles and philosophies, about pressure from Borussia or a problem in the physical condition of your team?

– We have a problem with everyone. When we ran out of 11 players, who “fell” due to the coronavirus, and other boys were injured … As I said, we are living a very difficult time, in which there is practically no time to recover. There are footballers who simply overflow with matches, they are not robots, but people. All this fatigue adds up. I didn’t have statistics on how many team players ran, but if you say, I think so, that Borussia ran more today than Shakhtar. Maybe we didn’t run because we had less time without the ball: one thing is always interconnected with the other. Running a lot doesn’t always mean running well.

– You failed again today after a corner. This problem was before you, it remains now: almost every corner leads to a shot at your goal. What is the reason, how do you try to change it and what fails?

– We are working in many standard positions in attack and defense. The problem cannot be solved. The team is very fragile in this, and this moment worries us a lot. We try to spend all of our training time on this problem. It doesn’t always work, we will continue. There is nothing that cannot be solved with hard work. We will try to add something to this. Today we have even tried to pressure Borussia not to take the game to set pieces, to move it as far as possible from our goal.

Unfortunately, even so, of four corners that were, we scored. There weren’t many corners and the strategy was not to allow too many corners to be created in our goal. However, the opponent managed to score a ball from four corners. This means that today they have a 25% success rate in the corners, if not to speak of free kicks, where they also managed to score two goals in our goal.

– After defeats, there are always critical questions. Do you and the players feel the mood of the fans? After all, half the team does not speak the same language with the fans, perhaps this lack of communication affects a bit.

– I understand that the fans have nothing to be happy about now. When the results are not good, I am the first person to feel in a bad mood, both mine and those around me. The joy of the coach and the joy of the team is to make his fans happy. If last season reaching the UEFA Europa League semi-finals and the championship with 23 points of advantage over second place gave our fans a lot of joy, unfortunately we still do not have many days and happy moments in this. Everyone understands the difficulties we are going through. There was no low season, we went from season to season in three days, and there was practically no rest day. We crossed with very tired players.

The problems mounted, then a wave of coronavirus fell on our team: we lost many players for several weeks. Due to the fact that the boys did not feel very good at the beginning of the season, and then all this was added, it is difficult. We are trying to restore the equipment, but it is very difficult. We understand how unpleasant our fans are now because of our performance. As a coach, I don’t need anyone to pressure me to win. I push myself, I have a responsibility to push myself. And those who have known me for many years know perfectly well that I am responsible for everything that happens with the team’s results. If the result is not the best, I am responsible. The coach is responsible for these poor results.