Saturday brings the clash between Lechia and Lech in Matchday 2 of the PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa. Ahead of the game against the reigning Polish champions, head coach John Carver answered questions from the media.
The match against Lech will go ahead as planned:
We were waiting until the last moment to know if the match would take place. I found out late that we would play on the originally scheduled date. Of course, we prepared as if the game would go ahead normally. I’m glad we’re playing on Saturday — after a defeat, you always want to get back on the pitch quickly. Lech had a great result in their Champions League qualifier. I don’t think Tuesday’s match will have a major impact on them physically. And as for the option to reschedule matches? I think it’s a good rule. From my experience in England, I know how important European qualifiers are. The only downside is that we found out quite late that the match was happening.
Lechia’s plan for the match against the champions:
I’d like my team to play like we did against Lech last season. We were physically lacking a bit in Zabrze. I hope we’ll improve game by game.
The White-and-Greens will face Kolejorz without Bohdan Sarnavskyi, who suffered an injury:
We’re saddened that Bohdan got injured. We’re working on a solution. We wish him a speedy recovery — he will need surgery. As for Kacper Gutowski? He won’t be in the matchday squad. Bujar Pllana and Michał Głogowski are also dealing with minor fitness issues.
What kind of match does the coach expect:
When you play against the Polish champions, it’s always a tough match. Lech didn’t have the best start to the season and they’ll want to bounce back. Their true face? They are still the champions. After what I saw on Tuesday, I think they’ve already moved on from the early disappointment. Ishak scored a hat-trick — we’ll need to watch out for him. Lech have a lot of quality players. I know quite a bit about Palma, who came from Celtic. But I don’t think they’ll change their system. Still, we’re focused on ourselves.
New faces in Lechia’s coaching staff:
We’ve made a few staff changes. Jordan Tait and Szymon Kałuża, our new head physiotherapist, have joined us. Jordan will support the development of young players. Łukasz Gajowniczek will also help us while continuing his work in the Academy. That connection with the Academy is important. Łukasz will also support our analyst. We want to develop the entire club.
What are the coach’s expectations for the new season:
My wish? A full stadium every week! We’ll try to build toward that. I’m not great at making promises, but I want to see progress — a better team each week.
