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Leonid Kuchuk: "The champion struggle is still ahead"

Lokomotiv manager Leonid Kuchuk told the post-game press-conference the break in the tournament is good for everybody and thanked his men for their performance.

- Two questions: Kurban Berdyev said the result is fair. What do you think? An why did Pavlyuchenko, not N'Doye, started the game?
- I cannot but agree with Mr Berdyev, the result is fair. Rubin were very well organized, they changed their scheme and played with five defenders. As for N'Doye he didn't feel well these days and only trained yesterday. I had planned to change one for the other in the second half, and I did. Pavlyuchenko had his chances in the second half, he played pretty well but Rubin are famous for their defence. That's it.

- Does it annoy you you didn't manage to become the sole leaders of the League?
- Not at all. We got a point. What separates us from Zenit? Nothing. The struggle is still ahead. I want to thank the guys for their motivation, for their desire to win. I understand them perfectly: in summer, a new coach came to the team, with his own ideas. There's been a lot of filthy talks, rumors: whether I'm a drunkard or not, whether I can pass this exam or not. Like for any other coach, every game is an exam for me.  

- Why did you fail to beat the teams whose defence is tactically well-trained: Tom and Rubin?
- Do you think we have badly trained teams in our League? Yesterday I watched a game where one of the teams were favourites and should have destroyed their opponents but they didn't. Every team have played 19 games, and I don't see a single opponent with bad defence.

- Lass Diarra has got the third red card so far. Does he have phycological problems?
- Do you remember the episode when he got the second yellow card which turned into a red one? He won the tackle! What does it have to do with psycology? Lass is a good guy and a skillful player. Thanks God it happened in the last game, not earlier, but keep in mind he's been essential to our performance in midfield throughout the entire month. Do you really think I'm going to punish him or something? We're human beings, we all can get nervous sometimes.

- Statistics show Lokomotiv were better in the second half.
- The game was poor in attempts today. As I said, Rubin's defence is very well-organized. It's incredibly difficult to find a breach in a defence like theirs, the ball moves slowly. And remember bad weather.

- Can you now say it aloud your goal is to become the champions this year?
- Our goal is to play well. Good play will bring good result. We're among the top teams now. And there're still 11 more games to play in the spring, and they are going to be really hard. On the other hand, if a person doesn't dream of being a champion, he doesn't see himself in sports. Nobody knows what's going to happen after the break and we have to prepare carefully for the second half of the tournament.

- What positions would you like to see improved?
- We have to take a break, don't ask me to spill the beans here and now. Some players have long been sought for, it's not that easy. Sometimes it takes two or three years to find the right player. Now all players in the team are pretty level so please don't think we're going to dismiss half of them. Maybe, one or two new players will come. Maybe. Selection is a very fine thing. You might think it takes just a bag of money to buy a player. But that's not so, you have to make a whole research: how good he is in his position, how well he adapts to new people, you have to look closely. I'm still in today's game and you already want to know about transfers.

- Do Lokomotiv need the upcoming break?
- Nineteen games is a big part of the tournament, and we all need a break. I'm tired, the players are tired. The break was planned and it is good for everybody. If you don't make a break you risk to face injuries. Thanks God we don't have many players injured, in just a couple of days everybody will be okay.

The training process has also been planned beforehand. We will spend two months training and here you have to clearly understand how you are going to work with your team. For a coach the most difficult part is this. I sleep 3-4 hours and the rest of the time I work. The greatest difficulties are still ahead.
Сергей Томилов, пресс-служба ФК "Локомотив"

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