Lechia players are in Kraków preparing for the Polish Cup match against Puszcza Niepołomice. Before Wednesday’s clash, coach John Carver took part in an online briefing, answering questions from the media.
The team’s situation ahead of the match:
This is a very important match for us – both this cup game and the next one against Radomiak. Of course, we’ll make a few changes to the lineup, but we don’t want them to affect the result or the game itself. We want to advance to the next round. There are players who haven’t played much recently, but above all, we must pay attention to health matters. We’re monitoring the situation and will definitely give rest to those who need it. We have reports from our physiotherapists, and everything is heading in the right direction.
On how the defeat against Raków affected the players’ mindset:
We were disappointed after the match in Częstochowa. We have our standards, but tomorrow is a new and completely different game. We’ll face a different opponent – a team that’s rebuilding after relegation. They definitely want to return to the Ekstraklasa. Sometimes, when you have a cup match, it can serve as a kind of “distraction” between league fixtures.
On Lechia’s previous struggles against Puszcza:
Everyone knows that we haven’t done well against Puszcza, and we want to make up for that. It’s frustrating that we lost our home game against them back in February. We reminded the players about that today.
On his assessment of the “Żubry” (the Bisons):
It’s a team going through changes, but they have good players – for example, Naschimento. He’s a very good player and a strong addition to Puszcza.
On what kind of Lechia we should expect:
We need to switch into competition mode, respect our opponent, and approach the match professionally. I can assure you that we’re not treating this as an easy game. Our preparations are exactly the same as if it were an Ekstraklasa match. We’re professionals, and that’s a very important point. We know that the pitch or stadium conditions might not be perfect, but we’ve played on tough surfaces recently as well, and it doesn’t matter. It’s all about us, and I don’t want the players to give anything less than their maximum.
