At a post-match press conference, coach Szymon Grabowski commented on the victorious match against Górnik Zabrze.
– I would like to sincerely thank the players for what I saw and what the fans saw in the stadium and on television, because they witnessed a team that was striving for victory from the very beginning. A team that is maturing in this league – until now, we had been experiencing the worst results or moments on the pitch, so I am very happy with how this match unfolded, from the first to the last minute – said coach Szymon Grabowski. – Someone may say that in the final moments, you shouldn’t play like that, but let’s take it from the beginning: the first half was very well played by us football-wise. We wanted to take advantage of the change in structure when Wójtowicz and Mena moved to the center, and we wanted to draw out Górnik’s central defenders, which worked well for us. However, in the second half, the hosts started the game very well. The changes the coach made had the intended effect. We allowed ourselves to be pushed back and dominated too much, but after 15 minutes, we got back into the game and felt more comfortable with the ball. I also want to praise us for what we did in the final minutes, because the endings against Zagłębie Lublin and Raków Częstochowa were not pleasant. Today, our players showed a lot of heart and character, and I would like to see this kind of team in the upcoming matches. We want to dedicate this victory to our fans, who have been with us from the start, supported us, and even in the recent difficult period, did not turn away from us. This is for them
On the absence of Maksym Khlan from the game team:
– The day before yesterday in a training session Maks had a clash with Bujar Pllana. He has an examination tomorrow morning, so we’ll know more. For the moment Maks is staying with us – as for the squad we’ll see how it goes on. I hope it’s not a big injury.
On what gave Lechia the victory:
– Let’s not overestimate the heart, I think there was a lot of quality here and we saw that in the first half. On top of that, the fixed parts of the game were very well and wisely enforced. Today at the briefing we said to ourselves that we can’t talk at the next post-match briefing about the fact that we are getting into situations and not shooting. Today we said to ourselves that we have to score. We scored two goals [in the first half] and I think there were opportunities for more. So, heart and character aside, the football qualities were really good here, especially in the first half. When things got tough for us after conceding a goal, we passed the test and managed to get out of a difficult situation.
About Lechia’s defense:
– I think we still haven’t shown our true potential, either in offense or defense. This is an area that still needs work, and we definitely won’t stop here or get carried away by this victory, because we really need to keep addressing the deficits we have. The most important thing for me is that the players understand this, that they are aware of the shortcomings and weaknesses. But today, we’re not thinking about that; today, we’re celebrating, and we head into the representative break in really good spirits. These good spirits will help us work even better in the two training cycles ahead of us.
On working with Kevin Blackwell:
– I’ll be honest, in Lechia, Górnik, and probably a few other clubs, the coach’s seat is always hot, whether the results are good or bad. The ambition of the club’s management and the fans is always high, and I don’t want to get into those discussions at all. I’m happy with today’s victory, happy that we accomplished something great together, and we did it together with Kevin Blackwell, who has personally given me a lot of support from the very beginning and shares much of his experience with me. Our collaboration is going well, very well, and I think it will only get better. We have a division of responsibilities within the coaching staff, and also in the club, where the most important thing for us is the team’s goal, which is the development of the players and the team itself. This was evident in the First League, it’s visible in the Ekstraklasa, and as far as I’m concerned, as long as I’m at Lechia, that won’t change.
Listen to the full conference here:
