Ayxan Abbasov: "We now have a more competitive squad"

"Shamakhi" lost to "Qarabagh" 2:3 away in the 19th round of the Misli Premier League. Sport24.az reports that the head coach of the guests, Aykhan Abbasov, answered journalists' questions at the press conference held after the match:

- It was an interesting game. The first half started with goals. We knew that the opponent would put more pressure in the second half. We made a slight mistake, the opponent caught us on a counterattack. We regret that we could not win points. I was satisfied with the players in terms of the game. Some players are not fully ready. But they, the newcomers, felt our championship. The absence of Leroy Mickels affected our game. There will be interesting games until the end of the season. 8 players left the team. We had to fill their places. We suffered in many games until winter. We filled the places of the players who left. We brought three local and four foreign players. Today Jalal Huseynov and Murad Valiyev played. The others are legionnaires. It is difficult to make local transfers in winter. We wanted to, but it didn't happen. First of all, we want to achieve the goal. We now have a more competitive squad. This will also play a role in the growth of the players.

- You were the most active team in the transfer window. When do you think the incoming players will be fully ready?

- There are also those who are ready. Alfonso, who was ordered, was ready. Vladislav Veremeyev is also ready. Andrey Tirkovenu will be better. They will be in full shape after two rounds if there are no injuries.

- You have been creating difficulties for "Qarabagh" for two games. Have you found the secret?

- If we found the secret, we would get points (laughs). My players are confident. We could have won points in the game in Shamakhi. We also scored a goal. Today, we could have taken the lead in the score as well. Our demand from the players is to play well in attack and defense. There are 2 teams in the championship that we have not been able to get points from. One of them is "Qarabagh". I guess it's left for the last game. Playing against "Qarabagh" is an extra motivation. We could not achieve our desire. It means we need to work harder.