Taras Stepanenko: Vorskla are good team, match will be difficult

26-02-15 19:29:47

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On the eve of the match with Vorskla Poltava, the Pitmen’s midfielder answered reporters' questions.

- Taras, how do you feel? Do you feel completely ready for Saturday's match?
- Of course! The team are one hundred percent ready. Especially since we have already played one official game this year. And we played great. Therefore, we must also play like that in the domestic championship, show good football. We are now five points behind Dynamo Kyiv, and we need to win every game.

- Did you manage to regroup emotionally after the game with Bayern in the domestic league? Is there any difference?
- If the result is good, the mood is just excellent. Our training camp in Turkey have been good as well. Therefore, we are going into Saturday’s game in great mood.

- Taras, are Vorskla uncomfortable opponent?
- Yes, it has always been hard to play with them. Lately, we would lose or play out a draw with them away from home. They are a good team, so the match will be difficult. I wish there were many club like that in our league.

- Shakhtar are five points behind Dynamo – is that a lot?
- You could say so. Therefore, we must avoid mistakes that we had in the first round.

- What did Mister want to improve at the training camp in Turkey after the game with Bayern?
- Mister was focused on attacking actions. Because we defended very well, but didn’t create almost anything. So we have to work on it.

- What do you make of the game with Bayern?
- I was very nervous and worried. Because they are very strong team. I think on the road it will be even harder.

- It was said that after the removal of Alonso you had to pile pressure on Bayern. What was lacking? Сonfidence? Or was the task of keeping a clean sheet first?
- It is always a task to keep a clean sheet. One always wants to score. There was a numerical advantage, but we still tried not to concede. Maybe we failed to make timely transition, to play more agressively and take a risk a bit.

- Yesterday Vorskla announced the signing of a contract with Anton Shynder - your former team-mate. Is he a dangerous opponent? Is it a promising step for him?
- Anton is a good player, a good forward. The only thing he had was a little dip in the form. He was unable to gain momentum here, and he didn’t show particularly anything at Chornomorets. Nevertheless, there is not a very good tradition, when a person moves to another team, he often scores a goal against his former team. Let's hope that this will not happen. But he knows how to score.

- Did you follow how seriously Vorskla strengthened their squad in the winter this season?
- I know about transfers of Shynder and Siminin. The league will show how well they have strengthened their squad. I think they have a pretty balanced team.

- It is hard to gear up for Vorskla, given that there is probably Bayern on your mind?
- There are still two weeks to go before the Bayern game! We've got three games. Therefore, I cannot say that we don’t gear up for this game.

- How likely is underestimation?
- I do not know, let's see – it is hard to say what others think. I'm sure everyone wants to win. We also need to win in the league games in order to play in the Champions League.

- It has always been difficult for the team to switch over from the Champions League to the domestic league...
- We do not play on the second or third day. Enough time has passed. We conducted our friendly matches in Turkey. I think there shouldn’t be problems with that.

- How do you like the weather? Is it not very comfortable?
- In Turkey, the weather was the same. It wasn’t much warmer.

We want to remind you that Shakhtar vs Vorskla game will be held at Arena Lviv on 28 February. It kicks off at 17:00. Tickets for the game can be purchased online on the official site of FC Shakhtar.

FC Shakhtar
Press Office