Nikolic: We could have finished the game against Khimki earlier

Lokomotiv’s head coach Marko Nikolic reflects on the victory against Khimki (2:1) in Gameweek 10 of the Russian Premier League.

- I want to congratulate the team on the victory. In the last four matches we got ten points. The game turned out to be difficult. I said before the game how important it is to win today. Now, there is an international break - we will prepare for the home game against Ufa, and then the Champions League will begin.

- Why Smolov did not play and what happened with Corluka?

- We missed Smolov. He has scored two goals in his last two matches, but suffered a minor injury yesterday in training. Nothing serious. Corluka played half an hour today. After he left, the game changed. I hope that after the break, Vedran will return.

- What will you pay attention to during the break?

- We have to work hard. Today I am pleased with the result, in the first half we controlled the game one hundred percent, but in the second we started to get nervous, although there were chances too. We could have finished the match earlier. We continue to work, we have a new team and new players. We need to work calmly and move forward.

- There were news that Kuzyayev has joined Lokomotiv. What can you say?

- I just came from the changing room and did not see the news. I can't confirm the information. But I hope that we will strengthen the team. Tuesday is the final day to register players for the Champions League.