FC Terek Grozny coach Stanislav Cherchesov in his interview with Sport Den Za Dnem summed up the results of 2011.

Unhappy about game against Nalchik

— Stanislav Salamovich, the first part of the championship is over. How would you sum it up?
— I can hardly provide an objective assessment because I was only watching the championship from within for the last month and a half. I cannot provide a detailed assessment of the entire first round, but only the time I was with Terek.

— And are you happy about your work with the team?
— I have already said that I am unhappy about the last game against Nalchik. Not so much about the result, but about our performance in the second half. But generally speaking, my coaching staff and myself introduced certain tactical and staff changes. And the playing scheme was changed as well. Our performance got some nice and positive reviews. This means that people see us moving in the right direction. And the most important is that our games started to draw larger crowds. There were five thousands spectators watching my debut game as Terek coach and twelve thousands at the last home game. You cannot entice people with mere words. They need your performance, your goals, your victories and emotions. And the team was looking better, but we still have a long way to go. We have to work to fill our wonderful stadium.

— So what were the reasons for defeat against Nalchik? May it be that some of the players were on vacation already?
— I do not know. The game scenario might have some impact. But then we managed to recover from 0-2 to 2-2 in away game against CSKA. We performed quite well in the first half against Nalchik, but they scored a late minute goal right before the break. No sooner than the second half kicked off, we made a very serious mistake in defense and the second goal was scored after our goalkeeper was left to face the home side striker alone. These two moments had a certain impact. You end the first half in disappointment and plan on evening the score, and then you ruin everything by yourself. This affected the further course of action because we performed quite poorly in the second half. But then again, I shall stress that we are preparing and nothing must drive us out of our wits. We did not examine the game in details because the vacations started but I did not like the game at all. All other games had much more positive about them. The same applies to both home and away games against Krylya Sovetov, although we managed to collect only one point.

 
Playoff games to not be easy

— What do you think about playing two games of the spring stage of the championship in fall? Does it make sense to play less games during the third part of the season?
— I think that people who take such decisions take all factors into consideration. We can have our own considerations and we do, but once a resolution is issued it is better to not divert our attention. Some of the things have already been decided upon and we shall simply assess them, analyze and prepare the team well. We cannot change anything thinking if it was good or bad. This way we will only distract ourselves and the team.

— What do you think about potential playoffs with teams from the first division? This is where you started this last season – can any of the teams be taken as serious opponents?
— Nobody is insured against anything. We have the regulations which were approved before the season and we will have to stick with them. And I know for sure that there are strong, well prepared and hard to crack teams in the first division. So this is not going to be an easy walk.

— How would you estimate the average level of teams in the bottom eight? How homogenous is it? Are there obvious leaders?
— Bottom eight games are going to be hard. Some of the teams have players of a higher class. But motivation, tactics, technical skills and devotion will be of vital importance. And then, the transfer period is opening so we will have to see which team has who on transfer. This is also of certain importance.
— There are many specialists who believe that Terek should not have problems about remaining in the Premier League. Are you pleased by such assessments?
— It is hard for me to tell who says what. There are many [specialists] who say that Russia was placed in a fine group at Euro 2012. But looking at this from outside and staying in the focus of events and be responsible for preparations is not the same thing. We have things on paper and we have the realities. So we are getting ready to realities and not to what is written on paper.


It is the president to speak of money  


— Terek management has changed recently …
— True, we have a new president – Magomed Daudov. And he can now resolve staff issues with appointments and dismissals. We maintain regular contact and spoke two or three times today already because there are always urgent issues to be resolved. He is of great assistance to me and I can only express my gratitude to him.

— How active is transfer work at present?
— It is underway and we know which candidates we need. Something is turning out and something is not, but this is how it happens everywhere and every time. But any announcements will follow only after the contract has been signed. You shall not expect us to jump the gun and waive flags around.

— Is this going to be a target selection or a significant group of players shall be expected at Terek?
— There are positions that we believe need strengthening. And hence this is going to be target selection. Several players from our list will not be able to join us for this reason or that. But the work is still underway and more information will be available in the coming days…

— Based on Internet reports, Terek is strongly interested in South American players. Is this a priority market for you?
— If somebody writes something this is not necessarily true. If I am really interested about something, I will never tell myself. And as for the market, it is the whole world. The Internet now provides access to any club and any football matches. And if only South American market was available in the past, there is also Korea, Japan, China and Europe at your disposal. We are not overfocused at anything. We are open to any proposals. And we would not like to win a transfer just for the sake of a transfer. We really wish to strengthen our team and build a true hierarchy across the team. And we shall also invite several Russian players because of the current regulations and necessity to structure and balance the team.

— Can you announce the amount that the club is ready to spend during this transfer window?
— No, I can’t. Everything is transparent with us, but why announce financial or transfer deals. This is something that only the president can do because every person is responsible for his own work in our club. It is the president to talk of money, and I would talk of players.