"We need to solve many remaining problems"

Last KHL season was the most successful for Ufa's Salavat Yulaev in the last five years. With a small budget and financial problems, the club from Bashkortostan reached the semi-finals of the playoffs, where, after five matches, it lost to the future Gagarin Cup winner Yaroslavl Lokomotiv. This success happened under the leadership of head coach Viktor Kozlov, whom the Salavat leadership retained after unsuccessful playoffs in the previous two seasons, when Ufa were eliminated in the first round.

Last week, the KHL season closed in Barvikha, where Salavat CEO Rinat Bashirov received a number of prizes for the team's striker Joshua Livo, who did not attend the event and became the top scorer and sniper of the regular season. In an interview with Izvestia, Bashirov commented on the financial situation at the club, the extension of his contract with Kozlov, negotiations on new agreements with foreign players, and spoke about a possible return to the KHL draft procedure.

— How close are you to solving your financial problems now?

— We have technical parameters regarding the budget. The main thing is to do everything. We hope that there will be fewer financial problems in the new season.

— After the fifth match with Lokomotiv, the head of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Radiy Khabirov, came to the Salavat locker room and, under the cameras, personally offered Viktor Kozlov to extend his contract with the club.

— The head of the republic thereby simply showed respect to Viktor Nikolaevich. He appreciated his work and added at the end: "You decide for yourself." There was no such thing that Kozlov was told, "We are appointing you, and you must stay." No, he was given a choice, indicated an interest in continuing to work together. Radiy Faritovich just felt it necessary to publicly support the head coach, knowing the difficult conditions he was working in. And I gave him his due.

— It just seemed that Kozlov also owed a debt to the leadership of the club and the republic for believing in him even after being eliminated from the playoffs in the first round last two seasons.

— Our head of the republic is an experienced politician who understands what needs to be said and when.

— How seriously will you strengthen the squad for next season?

— We understand what we need to strengthen, what needs to be fixed. But I can't say anything specific yet. Now is the most difficult time for club managers in terms of negotiations with players and agents. Therefore, we cannot share our plans with the public.

— Do you still have any chances to sign new contracts with Sheldon Rampal and Nathan Todd?

— We are still negotiating. Let's see what they have to say. We have time to deal with this closely.

— More than a year ago, there was a lot of hype after posts on your Telegram channel "Honey Fair" and closing comments, when fans began to harshly criticize the lack of reinforcement and poor results in the playoffs. Are there any chances that you will reopen them in the foreseeable future?

— It will definitely be in the foreseeable future. (Laughs.)

"When?"

— In a year. When we solve the budget problems. The coming year will also be difficult for us in this regard. We need to solve many remaining problems. So I will be patient and will not comment on anything until the next blunder of the judges. (He smiles.)

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— Does it take exactly one year to solve financial problems?

— Yes, the republic is currently helping us to close our debts and provide financing for the club for the coming season. If everything goes as planned, then in a year we will be debt-free, and we will have more tools to develop the team and strengthen the squad.

— During the past season, the topic of a possible return to the KHL draft became relevant again, a working group was created, which, according to Alexey Morozov, will send the results of its analysis of the situation in early June. Are you in favor of returning the draft?

— We are generally always in favor of the draft. For all clubs to have the opportunity to acquire the rights to talented young players. This equalizes the capabilities of the teams. In addition, we are in favor of not having our players taken away by the capital's clubs, not by rich clubs in general. Therefore, the smaller your budget, the more claims you have on the draft.

— So it wouldn't be a disaster for you if the rights to the Salavat Yulaev pupil raised by the school were transferred to another club in the same way?

— It's not a disaster. There's nothing wrong with that. That's how Danil Aimurzin left Salavat Yulaev two years ago. He was born in Ufa, but then we traded him to Severstal for Alexander Samonov. I think that in the end, all sides benefited from this. Aimurzin constantly plays in Cherepovets, he plays effectively — so at the closing night of the KHL season he came on stage and received the prize for the most productive three (along with Kirill Pilipenko and Mikhail Ilyin. — Izvestia). And we were proud of him.