Yaroslav Gladyshev: "I hope we can get an A for the second half of the season"

— This season, your first serious injury happened, because of which you did not play for two months. How did you reschedule this time? Have you fully recovered yet?

— I recovered completely, I usually suffered. This is life, football… It happens. I hope everything will be fine from now on.

— In the last round with Rubin, you finally spent 90 minutes on the field. Is it possible to say that you are already in good physical shape?

— I'm slowly gaining weight after an injury. After all, I missed two months, and I have to recruit all over again, gradually, through games, plus the coaching staff gives me time. Physically, I feel better.

— Before the match with Zenit, few people bet on Dynamo. Did it add to the mood? How did you manage to win in St. Petersburg?

— I don't think it's because someone didn't believe in us. We went out with the attitude that we could beat Zenit, especially since we had already defeated them before. We just played our football, the young guys showed themselves well, and in general we performed well as a team.

— This is your second game in a row, playing with a front three of Academy graduates. How are you doing with Kostya and Ulvi?

— Kostya and I have been playing together for a long time, so we have a good feel for each other. Things are going well with Ulvi, too. I hope we can continue in the same spirit, and everything will be fine.

— Another Academy graduate, Kurban Rasulov, unexpectedly burst into the starting lineup. Is it as difficult for him to score in training as in official games?

— It's very easy for him to score in training (smiles). Seriously, you have to understand that he's a young goalkeeper who's showing great results right now. Let him continue like this, and everything will work out for him. He has a great career ahead of him.

— You finally managed to make an assist at the end of the match in St. Petersburg. Has a weight been lifted from your shoulders?

— I wouldn't say so. For me, the most important thing is for the team to win. Even if I have 0+0 in 20 matches, the team will still be champions. This is much more important.

— I'll only have two days to recover after the cup game. Is that enough time, considering the fatigue I've already accumulated by the end of the year?

— I can speak for myself: I missed two months and I'm not tired, so everything's fine.

— We have a match coming up against Akron, which, after a successful first season in the RPL, isn't looking so promising yet. What can you say about our next opponent?

— I don't follow Akron particularly closely, but they're a good team that always fights and primarily plays for Dzyuba. He creates chances and helps Akron with his experience.

— In the last round against Rostov, Akron had to play without Dzyuba. Are they two different teams with and without him?

— I think so. When Dzyuba is in the starting lineup, they play more for him, make long passes, he fights, and the players rebound. Without Dzyuba, Akron is a more mobile and quicker team. Plus, he adds a great deal of mentality to training sessions and the locker room. He's an experienced player who's played for many clubs and clearly knows his stuff.

— At the end of this match, we spent 10 minutes reviewing the disallowed goal by Yegor Golenkov. How much does that disrupt games?

— It disrupts things a lot. When you're just standing there for ten minutes, your playing time is reduced overall. I think there's already so little playing time in the Russian Premier League. So, I'd like to see decisions like these made a little faster.

— Tolyatti isn't a foreign city to you, as you started out at the Konoplyov Academy, and your father worked at Akron. Do you have any particular feelings about this team?

— Perhaps, deep down, there is, because I'll be playing against my hometown, but they don't play in Tolyatti. If they played there, it would be much better; lots of my family would come to the games. As it is, while they play in Samara, I don't associate them with Tolyatti. But, again, the attitude toward Akron will be a little different, not like it would be against my usual opponents. Tolyatti has an old stadium, but if it were renovated, even to a capacity of 10,000-15,000, it would be interesting. People would definitely come. Back when Lada played there in the Premier League, the stadium was very crowded.

— Does the team's four-game winless streak in the RPL put pressure on the team, considering they could have earned many more points in those matches?

— Maybe a little, but overall, no. We should have won against Rubin, but circumstances worked out that way—for example, a defender cleared the ball from an empty net. We created a lot of chances, had some close calls, but we were a little unlucky. That's how football works.

— Do you understand what exactly needs to be changed to improve our standings in the second round?

— I think the coaching staff understands that. A lot of guys have joined, and it's not like everything works out from the first day. You need to work every day, improve relationships, and a new coach has arrived with new demands. You gradually get used to everything, and after two or three months, we can already say we've understood the basic requirements. Some things need to be improved, others left untouched, but consistent work is the foundation; we can't do without it. Another big drawback is our injuries, unfortunately.

— How would you rate yourself and the team for the first round?

— I'd give myself the lowest possible grade on a five-point scale — 0. After all, the injury knocked us down. As for the team, I wouldn't want to rate it anywhere in the middle. I think we can give it an A for the second round.