Nikolic: It’s just a trial game

Lokomotiv head coach Marko Nikolic summarizes the game against Tambov (1:0).

- Did you like the game against Tambov?

- I would like to speak a lot because it’s just a trial game. What matters is what we’ll see on Sunday against Orenburg. But today we had discipline. We lacked many important players - Barinov, Zhemaltedinov, the Miranchuks, Kverkvelia, and also those who had been absent before - Farfan, Djordjevic, Kochenkov. The footballers who played today performed well.

- Did they follow your plan?

- Not exactly. It’s hard to make changes with just one practice but on Saturday we worked on many things and did something before the game. The players worked hard. I’m satisfied. I wouldn’t say I’m happy but I’m definitely not upset.

- Does it mean you will not make big changes to the team;’s play before the restart of the season?

- We don’t have time to create a new playing model from scratch, this means we need to keep the model Lokomotiv used before and make some corrections. We’ll have time to try different styles but right now the result is the only thing that matters - we must make it to the Champions League.