Nikolic: We deserved the three points and move on

Lokomotiv head coach Marko Nikolic summed up the victory over Arsenal (1:0) in the Gameweek 15 of the Russian Premier League.

- I want to congratulate the team on the victory and the anniversary of the first league title. We got an important victory, showed character, won with ten men. I liked that there were no chances near our goal. We earned three points and move on. We played one game and now there are seven more. The schedule is difficult. Now we are thinking about Atletico, then Akhmat. Each next game is the most important.

- Corluka recently returned to the squad. Maybe Lystsov should have started this game?

- After the match, it's always easy to say what was needed. Corluka is our captain, a very important player. When he's on the pitch, the team feels different. I had no doubts whether he should play or not.

- Kamano first played from the start, then he used to come on as a substitute, and now he comes out to waste time. Is he good enough for Lokomotiv?

- Absolutely. When you are down to ten men, and recently we often played with ten men, it becomes a special, abnormal game. The team played well in the second half and there was no point in changing anything. And I will not make changes for the sake of changes.

- After the match with Dynamo, you criticized the team for their character. Today, character helped to win. What kind of work did you do with the players?

- I remember very well what I said after the match with Dynamo. I talked about concentration and discipline and how they relate to each other. I didn’t say anything about the fact that we have no character. After today's match, it is obvious that the team has it.

- At the end of the match, you prepared two substitutions - Kamano and Lisakovich. Why didn't Lisakovich come on?

- We prepared the players so that they can come on the pitch as quickly as possible, if necessary. In the last minutes, it is necessary that everyone is on the bench and ready. Another change was not needed.