Gurban Gurbanov: I thank my players, I am very pleased with them

After the Champions League play-off match between Newcastle and Qarabag (3:2), the head coach of the visiting team, Gurban Gurbanov, answered journalists' questions. Sport24.az reports that the specialist first expressed his views on the meeting…

– I would like to thank my players. They had an interesting season. I am very pleased with each of them. For the game, performance, and character they showed. In our last game, they showed themselves as well as possible. Psychological preparation was difficult after the game in Baku. Despite the goals conceded at the beginning of the half, they did not give up on the game. I also thank the Newcastle fans, they supported us in some moments. The fans who came to Baku were also very satisfied. I also thank our own fans, they stood by us in this marathon, they showed support. We tried to make them happy. We showed them what big football is.

– What was the main lesson for the team on this year's Champions League journey?

– Every match was a great experience. We played against big clubs, we faced opponents playing in different game systems. We approached each match differently to the opponent. Playing against English teams was a great experience for us. English football is very different from European football today. Preparing the players for such games was a great experience. We would have liked to have better games. But we were able to show ourselves in the best possible light. I don't think these will be forgotten soon. The players were very tired physically and psychologically. Nevertheless, our goal was maximum and we tried to go as far as we could. Now we need to recover quickly. We need to get the team, ourselves, into a healthy state, and think well so that we can do successful work in the upcoming games and years.

– We started with a five-man defense. But it seemed like there was a problem in front of this defense. How do you plan to solve this issue?

– Every team has its own style. The first goal is to protect and improve our system. Sometimes we have opponents who are tactically and physically stronger. In such moments, we have to resort to changes. That's why we chose a five-man defense in Baku and here. To change each system, it is necessary to increase the number of players suitable for it. We have achieved our results today with our own system. If we see that such a game causes difficulties in the upcoming European matches, we can make changes.