"Sooner or later Dynamo will take the first place."
Nizhnekamsk Neftekhimik is considered to be one of the most original clubs in the first league of the Russian Football Championship. With one of the smallest budgets, it confidently keeps in the middle of the standings. Kirill Novikov, who previously led Dynamo Moscow, has been its head coach since December 2020. At one time he saved the Moscow club from relegation from the RPL and then led them from sixth place to the Europa League.
This season Neftekhimik went on winter break, ranking 11th among 18 teams. In an interview with Izvestia, Kirill Novikov assessed the performance of his charges, the level of the FNL, explained why it is hard for his club to fight for the RPL, and shared his opinion on the current performance of Dynamo Moscow.
- How would you rate the last season of your team on a five-point scale?
- Four with a minus. Because there were some games that we could have won. Unfortunately, somewhere we didn`t hold on to victories, somewhere we lost not by the game at all. That's why we rather missed points than took what we could. In general, there is room for improvement. I hope that in the second part of the championship we will be able to move up in the table.
- How many points did we miss?
- Seven points 100% - that's what immediately comes to mind.
- So we could be in the zone of transition matches or close to it?
- I think that somewhere close, yes.
- At the end of last season three not the poorest RPL clubs - Ural, Baltika and Sochi - joined the FNL. Taking into account the fact that they have maintained stable financing, has it become more difficult to play in the first league?
- Absolutely. The teams you have listed have big budgets, great players and two squads. If our Neftekhimik has 17 players, they have 30. Yes, it has become more difficult, but also more interesting. Such competition allows our young guys to progress and grow.
Players of FC Ural
- These three teams, along with Torpedo, now occupy the first four places in the first league table. Will anyone else interfere in the fight for a direct entry into the RPL and participation in the transition matches?
- I think there is no one else to interfere. These four teams will fight for direct access to the RPL and for the transition matches.
- Despite Neftekhimik's limited budget, you've had stretches when the team was close to the transition zone, but then there were series without wins, and it went downhill. Do you allow the option that in the foreseeable future you will be able to jump above your head and consistently compete for something serious in the first league?
- Look, our budget is three times less than that of Rotor (Volgograd). Just so you understand. In order to set certain goals, we need a certain number of players. For this we need other opportunities. Therefore, until we have a significant increase in the budget, we can not dream about the RPL. But in Neftekhimik all the guys are ambitious. Everyone wants to prove themselves and go to the Premier League team.
That's what we're building the possible progress of the team on - we attract young, hungry players who want to grow. We are not interested in veterans who finish with soccer - we have a slightly different way. One of the ways for the club to make money is to sell players. This is one of the tasks that are set before us.
- So far you don't see an opportunity to repeat what Fakel did in 2022, when they entered the RPL, even though they had not the biggest budget?
- No one in FNL-1 has a smaller budget than ours. The same "Fakel" in 2022 had a bigger budget than ours. And Voronezh then set the task to enter the RPL and were being equipped for this. Therefore, for me personally, there was nothing surprising in their success. They had a great season and really were one of the strongest teams in the league.
Whether we will try to replicate something like that has to be asked of our club leaders. If we assume and fantasize that in some season we will suddenly find ourselves close to the top spot, we will find money to strengthen the roster. And the managers will solve those issues that do not yet give us the opportunity to fight for the highest places.
- In recent weeks a lot of noise was made by the statements of the governor of Samara region Vyacheslav Fedorishchev about possible corruption in Russian soccer, in particular in refereeing. Have you encountered anything like that? Maybe your teams were demanded money for "correct" refereeing?
- I can't comment on this topic at all. Because these are not my statements, but those of the governor, who must somehow back up his words. Neither I nor our team is concerned. Therefore, I cannot answer your question in any way at all.
Governor of the Samara Region Vyacheslav Fedorishchev
- In recent years, several times there was information in the media that you were invited to work for Pari Nizhny Novgorod. Was there such an option?
- Yes, there was an offer. But you have to weigh the pros and cons. There were aspects that I didn`t like during the negotiations. That's why I decided to stay in Neftekhimik.
- When negotiating with the current sports director of "Pari NN" Alexander Udaltsov and his deputy Vladimir Rykov?
- No, they came a little later. It was before them.
- What do you think of the current Dynamo?
- We need to find a balance between defense and attack. Then it will be a very powerful strong team, claiming the first place. So far I don`t see this balance, so we can hardly say that Dynamo will fight for the championship.
FC Dynamo
- Don't you feel that a historic chance was missed in spring, when Dynamo was one point away from the first championship since 1976? Will it not break the club much for the next few years?
- The chance, of course, was fantastic. It had to be used. Unfortunately, it didn't work out. But I know the ambitions of the club management. And sooner or later the task to take the first place will be solved - I have no doubt about it.
- Arsen Zakharyan hasn`t played in Spain for a long time because of injury. In your opinion, why is it hard for him to play for Real Sociedad, although it's been almost a season and a half since his transfer?
- My version is that the intensity in the Spanish championship is much higher than in the Russian championship. Given that Arsen has to make more effort to succeed there than in the RPL, his body can't always cope. Hence the injuries. They prevent Arsen from reaching his potential. He needs time to get used to the local level and intensity, for his body to adapt. Then there will be fewer injuries, which prevent him from reaching his full potential.
Real Sociedad FC player Arsen Zakharyan
- Is it possible to increase the intensity in the Russian championship at the level of the RPL and the first league? Or are we hopelessly behind Europe?
- It is possible to increase the intensity. The main thing is that the skill of the players does not suffer. The question is how much the players' skill will allow to maintain this intensity with the increase in intensity. If it does not, there will be more mistakes and more losses. Have we fallen behind Europe? This question will be answered only when we return to the European cups.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
