The head coach of the blue and whites Marcel Licka answered journalists' questions after the cup match with Spartak (1:2).
— Today Dynamo played on the road with full stands. In your opinion, has the team shown its maximum at the moment?
— It's always very nice to play in a packed stadium, like today, and before that in matches with CSKA and Zenit. The game on our part was decent, but it did not bring us the desired result. In training, we dealt with such moments as with the second missed goal. It was shown many times, but, apparently, this was not enough. And as a result, we conceded a goal in this way, which decided the outcome of the match.
In the end, we took a risk – released Makarov and pushed Fabi forward, simplifying the game. Unfortunately, we managed to create only one moment after a cross into the penalty area, and Spartak withstood this pressure, bringing the game to victory.
— Dynamo finished with the Cup. What tasks do you set for the team for the rest of the season?
— There are four games left in the championship. We should try to win them all. We must always fight for our honor, our family and our club. So we need to quickly switch to the championship and prepare for a difficult game in Samara.
— Can we say that the loss of Konstantin Tyukavin was a key one for Dynamo in the second half of the season?
— It's a sport, it happens. A good example is Manchester City, where Rodri was injured, and now they are in 4th place, although they have a large reserve of players on the bench. But I don't want to look for excuses: to say, if Tyukavin had been with us, we would have won these games. Yes, he is a very important player for our team, who has grown into a very big player in three years, but we must not forget that football is a team sport.
One player can't do anything without the help of partners. Of course, Tyuka would have added quality to us and helped us. But there is no subjunctive mood in life, so we need to work with those who are. There are no Tyuka, Arthur, Mehdi is injured, but Gladi continues to progress. We have young players who need time to grow into great masters.
