"We played normally before, but we didn't have any luck"

Rostov's players have had an unsuccessful start to the current season, finding themselves in the relegation zone in the Russian championship and in last place in their group in the Russian Cup. But in the last two matches they managed to win against two Moscow top clubs - at home against CSKA in the championship (1:0) and away against Spartak in the cup (2:1). This allowed the Don club to improve its position in the championship, as well as maintain its chances of reaching the playoffs of the "RPL Path" cup — for this they need to take a place in the group at least second. Rostov residents are separated from Spartak, which occupies this line, by four points.

At the same time, they have a good chance to compete with Pari Nizhny Novgorod for the third place, which gives them the right to continue fighting for the trophy through the "Path of the Regions". In an interview with Izvestia, Rostov defender Viktor Melekhin explained the reasons for the recent successes and told how the team was affected by rumors about the resignation of current head coach Jonathan Alba.

— Why did Rostov improve so much in recent matches that they managed to win against CSKA and Spartak?

— To be honest, I think the game has remained the same, plus or minus, as before in lost matches. I just got lucky. We played normally before that, but there was no result. Because we were unlucky, we made a lot of individual mistakes. Thank God, now all this has been removed and we have started to win.

— What made you fight Spartak to win, given that the cup has almost sailed away from you, there are few chances for second place in the group, and at best you will be able to continue fighting in the tournament, coming out of third place in the Path of the Regions?

— I would not say that the cup has sailed away from us. There are still chances to go further. And we will fight to the end to get out of the group or we will try to go for the trophy through the "Path of the Regions". We always fight to the end and try to cling to any chance of passing on.

— In the first half of 2025, you have lost a whole group of key players in recent years: Danil Glebov, Nikolai Komlichenko, Maxim Osipenko. Can we say that Rostov has already managed to make up for their loss?

— We are trying to achieve results in the current conditions. Yes, the players who can be called key to us have left us. It's clear that it takes time to rebuild after that. But we have shown in recent matches that we can play and win without them. Let's see how things go from here. We still need to improve in many ways, but the last few matches show that our potential in the current squad is serious.

— Was the team's attitude against CSKA and Spartak influenced by the rumors about Jonathan Alba's dismissal that circulated in late summer and early autumn?

— We have seen what the media is writing. But there was nothing from the management and the coaching staff about this. Everyone understands that we need to continue working in the same way as before. That's why we tried and try not to pay attention to all the rumors. And we will continue to prepare for the next matches without being distracted by all these conversations.

— During the last period of Valery Karpin's work at Rostov, you did not play in the championship matches so often, but under Alba you again became a solid player in the starting line-up. How did it succeed?

— I try to take advantage of the chances given by the coaching staff. Work as hard as possible in training, go to matches and help the team win.

— Is Rostov able to return to the fight for high places in the first half of the table in its current form, as it was under Karpin?

— Let's see. Let's not guess, we'll keep working. And then everything will work out well for us.