"We want to be as high in the table as possible"

Samara's Krylia Sovetov is undergoing a serious renovation this summer. At the end of last season, Igor Osinkin left the post of head coach after five years at the club. A number of key players of the team in recent years have also left. The governor of the Samara region Vyacheslav Fedorishchev announced a reduction in the club's budget. Now Krylia is preparing for the new season under the leadership of new head coach Magomed Adiev and with a number of new players.

Among them is striker Vadim Rakov, who is on loan from Moscow's Lokomotiv for a year. He has already scored a goal and an assist in a friendly match against Spartak Moscow, which took place on Sunday in the capital and ended in a 2-2 draw. In an interview with Izvestia, Rakov spoke about the preparations for the season, his condition and how an injury prevented him from gaining a foothold at Lokomotiv a year ago.

— How would you assess your condition before the start of the season?

— In general, it's not bad. He played quite well in the match against Spartak, made an assist, scored a goal. It was already my third game for Krylia. At first, when I joined the team, I was a little worried about being in a new team. But now I've already met all the guys, and I'm gradually joining the team, finding interaction on the field and getting in shape. He adapted to Krylia quite quickly. And it's good that we managed to prove ourselves so well in the match against Spartak.

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— Is the team ready for the championship?

— We are gradually approaching the start. Our physical condition is good — the work in the assembly is of high quality. But, it seems to me, there is still room to grow both functionally and in terms of the game. There's just over a week left before the start of the championship, and I hope we'll be even better prepared during that time.

— Is there any understanding of what the head coach wants from you and the team?

— Yes, we talked with him, he explained to me and the rest of the guys what he wanted from us. I hope we can make this happen in the season.

— Do you consider Krylia Sovetov the best option for getting game practice?

— In any case, I wanted to play more, so there was a rental option. Thank you to Lokomotiv for meeting me halfway. Now I like Krylia, it's interesting to play and train. I hope everything will turn out well in the season too. I want to play more, show the best possible statistics and at the same time help the team achieve successful results. You just have to play well.

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— Alexey Batrakov showed himself very well at Lokomotiv last season, but last summer, at the beginning of the season, you were another young player who played well in the RPL. Why couldn't it be continued later?

— It seems to me that the injury played a strong role in that moment. Before her, I played a lot for Lokomotiv and performed well. Everything was fine. And after that he dropped out of the team. She knocked me out a lot. I hope that nothing will interfere with Krylia now and I will be able to play more, show myself and help the team.

— What can Krylia qualify for in the upcoming season?

— We want to be as high in the table as possible. To do this, you need to play to win every match, show all your best qualities. That's what we're going to do.