"If you want to play, not going to the clash is definitely not an option"

Spartak Moscow had a poor start to the season, but since mid-autumn they have picked up momentum with six consecutive victories in the Russian league and moved into the top three before the winter break. Now, after 18 rounds, Dejan Stankovic's men are just two points away from leaders Krasnodar and Zenit St. Petersburg.

In the last match before the break against Pari Nizhny Novgorod (3-0), defender Nikita Chernov, who has not played since August due to injury, came on as a substitute in the final minutes. In an interview with Izvestia, the 28-year-old explained Spartak's progress under Stankovic, assessed their chances of competing for the championship and shared his opinion on the scandals surrounding his former club - Samara's Krylia Sovetov.

- How did it feel to return to the field after the injury?

- I was looking forward to this moment. Yes, in the match with "Paris NN" I didn`t get much playing time, I came out only in the end of the game, but I`m grateful to Dejan for the fact that I got the opportunity to play so much before the winter break. It was very hard in the last months, when I was recovering from the injury. First of all, it was hard to watch the guys play from the sidelines, and you can't do anything to help them. I tried to recover as hard as possible to start playing sooner, but that's just the way it is.

- Considering the way Spartak's defense center backs Srdjan Babic and Alexis Duarte have been playing well in recent months, do you believe that you can win a place in the starting lineup from them?

- I always try to give my best in training and in games when I am on the pitch to prove my level and get a place in the starting lineup. After all, at the beginning of the season I was in the base. Then after the injury Litva (Ruslan Litvinov. - Izvestia) started to play in the center of defense, after his suspension Duarte was in the starting lineup. So everything is possible. Yes, now that we're on a winning streak, it's unlikely that the head coach will change the combinations that have brought success. But I will do everything to return to the core. Especially ahead of the training camp - we'll work there. It's not the first time I have to fight for a place in the starting lineup.

- Doesn`t it psychologically pressurize you that it`s not the first time you more or less constantly start playing in the starting lineup, and suddenly you get an injury, because of which you have to recover for a long time and fight for a place in the starting lineup?

- What can you do? That's life. This is soccer, there are no injuries in it.

- Is it some chain of accidents? Or some of the injuries could have been prevented?

- No, how could they have been prevented? The injuries that I had, you can't prevent. I just went into a collision and got injured. A defender must act like that - no matter if it's in training or in games. You always have to fight until the end, even if you risk getting injured.

- Not to go to the clash, take your feet away - not an option?

- No, of course not (smiles). If you want to play, it's definitely not an option.

- How can you explain such progress in the game of Spartak that he confidently won six games in a row in the second half of the fall?

- I didn't play, so don't ask me, but those who were always on the field in those matches (smiles).

- Weren`t you inside the team?

- I was, I was, I even went to the last outings with the guys. In short, everyone just believed in themselves. We won a couple of matches and gained confidence, with which we played further.

Strong as a "bull": "Krasnodar" leaves for the winter leader of the RPL

The southern club took advantage of Zenit's misfire, losing to Dzyuba's team

- Dejan Stankovic has been working with Spartak for six months. What are his qualities that make you have such results with him now?

- I haven't played under his leadership yet, but you can see that Dejan is a great motivator. I think everyone knows that. He is able to find the right words for the players, to encourage them. This is evident even in those games when Spartak didn't play well at first, but at halftime Stankovic found something to say to the team, and they came out energized for the second half. And, as a rule, they turned the tide of the game. In addition, as a great former footballer, he is able to show personally what he requires from us in training.

- Are you following the situation in "Krylia Sovetov", the loud statements of Samara Region Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev about corruption in the referee corps, the influence of Pavel Andreev's agent on the club and other cover-ups?

- Yes, frankly speaking, I'm in shock about it. And I just hope that the guys will be fine, they will just play soccer, and no one will pull them. And there won't be any obscure games around them. I want soccer to triumph.

- Are you surprised that Krylia managed to win away against Zenit (3-2)?

- I was just happy for the team, I wrote them messages after the match in St. Petersburg, congratulated them. I hope that in the spring they will win even more and show good results. The team has potential. The main thing is that it is not hindered, and it can do soccer. In this case it will rise even higher, the players and head coach Igor Vitalievich Osinkin are capable of it.

- With such "Zenit", which lost to "Krylia", is it possible to fight for the championship? Do you believe that Spartak will do it in the spring?

- You can always fight for the championship. And with Zenit, among others. Practice shows that we have a good enough championship: everyone can take points away from each other. Krylia beat them, let's see what Akron will do in St. Petersburg (the interview took place two hours before Akron's 2-1 victory over Zenit. - "Izvestia"). They also have guys who have something to prove.

- You mean Artem Dzyuba?

- Him, for example. He loves such games. Although we managed to stop him.

- Given the way Spartak gained momentum in the second half of the fall, do you have reason to be upset that there was a pause of almost three months?

- It turns out so, now it came at a bad time for us. But in any case, we need to take a break, recover and approach the training camp in optimal form. If we work well there, we will carry over the current move to the spring part.