Coach John Carver answered journalists’ questions before the match against Zagłębie Lubin.
On whether there were any injuries in the team after the match, aside from Camilo Mena:
After the match, we had two muscle strains and two kicks, but these were due to player fatigue, and it’s nothing serious. As for Camilo, he has been gradually returning to regular training for the past two days. Honestly, there was a good chance he could have played in the match against Lech, but I decided to let him skip that one to recover better.
On why Lechia let go of the last 15 minutes of the game against Lech:
I don’t think that’s the case. We won against the leaders of the table, a very good team with experienced players. Even though they played most of the game with ten men, we were still under a lot of pressure. The last 15 minutes made me happier than the remaining 75 because we showed that we can defend fiercely.
On whether the team’s high confidence is due to the coach:
It is certainly thanks to my many years of experience in the profession, but it is important that the team doesn’t go overboard with this confidence. Otherwise, our high confidence will backfire on us. The players need to be mentally prepared so that in the future they won’t treat situations like this as something guaranteed.
On how the team prepares for a match against a team, like Lechia, that is also fighting to stay in the table:
We know the strengths and weaknesses of our opponents. It’s a well-organized team with strong forwards, and they’ve recently signed a new right-back who might play in our match. I keep up to date with any changes in their team and am aware of when and where they could pose a threat to us.
Does the coach think it’s harder to play against the leaders of the table or another team that is also fighting to stay in the league:
It’s definitely harder to play against the latter. When playing against such teams, the pressure is much higher, especially since we already managed to beat the leaders of the table. Now, we need to show the same high level of play.
