Vernidub: "I am very happy today"

After the XXXII round match of the Misli Premier League "Sabah" - "Neftchi" (1:2), the head coach of the guest team, Yuri Vernidub, answered journalists' questions. Sport24.az reports that the specialist first shared his views on the meeting:

– I think it's a beautiful evening. We have achieved our goal.

– Were you sure you would reach your goal when you came here?

– We had to organize our work so that we could be where we wanted to be in the end. I knew we were very far from 4th place, but I understood that we had 19 games ahead of us. I came at the end of 2025, we would have two matches. After these meetings, there was a break and an opportunity to get closer to the players. I knew that the task ahead of us was difficult, but I believed that we would succeed. We had to play better, work harder. If we did these things, God would reward us. I sincerely say, I am very happy today.

– What main thing did you change in the team to achieve this result?

– We talked to the players individually, we restored order. We loaded the players enough. Because we understood that we are "Neftchi", we must play as "number one" in all matches. At least we had to show football like "Sabah", "Qarabağ". We created confidence in the team and as a result we continued on our way. It was important for the players to trust the coaching staff. I thank all the employees in the club, each of them has a big role. Especially, I thank the management. They were always by our side, they supported us. This was also very important. Look, these were the guarantors of our victories.

– Is it possible to achieve success in Europe with this squad?

– When I came to the team, I said that we will not say goodbye to anyone until the end of the season. We said that there will be decisions about this in the summer. Some players' contracts expire. I understand that new names are needed to compete well in Europe. I wouldn't want to go to the Conference League and stop in the first stage. I have participated in the Champions League, the Europa League in the groups. I want to do this in the Conference League as well. Taking all this into account, we will make appropriate decisions. We have a lot of work to do. We have to put in a lot of effort to reach our goal.