Mladen Bartulovich: "We have high goals and ambitions"

The head coach of "Metalist 1925" Mladen Bartulovich summed up the season in a detailed interview with the club's media, recalling the brightest moments, sharing his thoughts on the players' personal progress, talking about the team's future transfers, and more:

— Let's start with the general. How would you characterize your overall vision of football?

— I was an attacking player, and I want the team to always attack, for the guys to run there (note - in attack) and have the desire to score as many goals as possible. I understand that opponents often defend tightly against us, and we can't always play the way we want. But I am already moving towards what we need to do for the next season - improve our attacking game.

— If at the beginning of the season you were told that "Metalist 1925" would finish fifth, what would have been your reaction?

— I think it would have been a normal reaction because I know this championship and I know who our competitors are. But maybe I didn't know the strength of our team until the end, but when we started working and the training camps began, I was already confident that we would be at the top. Yes, maybe our start was uncertain, especially the first two rounds, but then the team started to pick up. Fifth place in the end, but the season showed that we can do more.

— What were the president's words that stood out to you the most during this season?

— Nothing is impossible.

— Does this correspond to your philosophy?

— I think the same way.

— What moment was pivotal for the team during this season?

— I think the first victory was very important - against "Oleksandriya" in the third round. Then there was a good match against "Shakhtar," after which the guys started to believe more in themselves, in the idea.

— For you personally, as a coach, how was this season different from your previous coaching seasons?

— This is the first season that I fully worked as a head coach. This is my first job where I worked with my own staff that I formed. Probably, I could already convey all my ideas to the players more.

— What do you think was your biggest success as a coach in this season? And for the team in general?

— I believe that we built a good team.

— You can't argue with that.

— It's not just in the team, but the atmosphere in the club overall is very good. Your media department in particular, the medical department as well - we did it. Speaking about the game, everyone notes that we have a very reliable defense and the team works very well together in pressing and defense. Also, I believe that the team looked very good physically throughout this season. This is also the work of our coaches in physical training and the entire staff in general.

— Which match was emotionally challenging, even if you won or, on the contrary, didn't win?

— The second round. The match against "Kryvbas" away - a match where we had many chances to score. Canceling a goal through VAR, plus anxiety. Then there were more chances, we could have scored three-four-five goals, but we didn't, and in the end, we lost that match. It was very, very difficult because it was the second round.

— The stage when everyone closely watches your work.

— Yes, yes. It was tough because the first round started with a draw against "Obolon," then the second round with "Kryvbas" - a defeat. The pressure was already felt on the team because of the new staff, a new team, and we started so uncertainly. But then the match against "Oleksandriya," and everything turned around.

— Actually, I wanted to talk about character. When did the team demonstrate it for the first time, in your opinion, such a fighting spirit? When did the guys show that they are capable of something more?

— They demonstrated it against "Kryvbas" in the second round, but luck was not on our side. With "Oleksandriya," it was also a very tough match, especially in the second half, the guys showed character and deservedly won that match.

— How did the team change mentally and in terms of football throughout the season?

— At the beginning, matches were difficult for us, and there was no confidence because it was a new team. You see, the guys came from different teams, some played in the First League. And here, maximum tasks are set for the team. It was evident that many were not ready for this, but throughout the season, the team changed, and we started to play more confidently. We gained form, and I believe that we added mentally as a team.

— And in football terms?

— In football terms as well, I think we added. Especially after the winter training camps: the second round was more stable than the first because we had good training and slightly strengthened the team. The players had a better understanding on the field. Essentially, in the second round, we only lost twice: to "Shakhtar" and "Polissya."

— Let's talk about the players. Whose progress pleasantly surprised you?

— Many players progressed, starting with Varakuta. The same can be said about Protsenko because if we remember how he was at the beginning and how he is now, there is a difference. Speaking of those who belong to the defensive line, I think Pavlyuk, Krupskyi, and Saliuk have improved a lot this year. They still have great potential to add more. I believe that these players will play for the Ukrainian national team in the future.

— Who did you expect more from, but nevertheless, you still believe in this player and have no doubt that he will progress?

— This can be said about Rashytsia. In the first round, he showed his potential, but perhaps injuries during the winter training camps prevented him from showing what he is capable of. We are confident that he will show it in the next season. We want more goals, assists from him; he can definitely do much more than he showed this season.

— You know, players say that you are good. Is that true?

— Not always, I think.

— When are you not good?

— It happens when there is some theory where mistakes need to be analyzed - either during halftime or after the match. But it's true because I try to create an atmosphere where the guys come to training with pleasure and enjoy their work.

— I know there was one match in the season against "Obolon" when you had a real showdown in the dressing room. Was that the only way to shake the team before the second half? What happened there, tell us?

— Yes, I think so. Half of the team was already on vacation. It was the last match before the winter break.

- Fire in the eyes?

- Yes, so during the break I had to talk tough. Probably more with the foreigners, and everyone got shaken up a bit, came out for the second half and won.

- Maybe then use this tactic more often in such moments if it works?

- It doesn't always work.

- If we go through the personnel. Let's characterize the football players a bit. You already mentioned Krupsky, that he is growing and a future player of the Ukrainian national team. Give his current characteristics, what you see, where his growth points are, where he adds directly not by age?

- I want him to become the leader of the team. I always tell them that you don't have to be 30 years old to be a leader. A leader can be at 20 or 25. And in this, he adds, and in terms of the game, I think he has improved defensively. As for the attacking game, he has become more versatile. He can play on the right and on the left, he also works very actively in attack.

- Baton Zabergja?

- He joined us late, at the end of the transfer window. Then he went to the national team, where he got injured. Then he recovered for a month, after which he got into shape at the end of the first round. The first 4-5 months he was somewhat unstable. But he had a very good winter training camp, which showed in the first matches of the spring. After that, he went to the national team for important World Cup qualifying matches against Kosovo. I think after that, maybe, he lost form a bit and it also hit him psychologically because they lost and did not qualify for the World Cup. But he worked with us again, and in the end, he had a very good run.

- What about Itodo?

- The same situation with Itodo as with Baton. He joined us late, there were no training camps with us. For the first half of the year, he was adapting because the intensity of our championship is higher than in Albania. We watched how he played in Albania, but he stood more there because they didn't need to press. He was waiting for his moment.

- Yes, they played for him there.

- It's a bit different here. After the winter, he had a good second round, I think he could have even become the top scorer of our championship. Mba was not consistent, he lost the competition to Itodo, who scored more. But Chris also gave us this competition for Itodo. Itodo always worked at his maximum. Although Chris played very well in several matches, where he scored goals. I remember the match against "Karpaty" away, where he had a good game.

- Baptiste is such a valuable transfer. A young player with great potential. How satisfied are you or do you see the potential that will unfold in him? Castillo towards the end of the season made people talk about him.

- Baptiste also did not have winter training camp with us because he arrived towards the end. He is a young man who started playing at a senior level with us. If he works hard, he will be able to show his great potential. Castillo came to us physically unprepared because the Venezuelan championship ended in November, and our training camp started in January. He had a long break, he turned out to be a bit unprepared. Probably, he didn't understand our championship, our training, and in the beginning, it was very difficult for him. But, as you said, he had a very good end of the season. After the match with "LNZ," he started playing more consistently, I think he will also help us a lot in the next season.

- Now let's move on to the block of questions on the topic that you called a football tragedy. I think you understand what I'm talking about. Let's talk about that semi-final match with "Chernihiv," have you already understood what happened then?

- It's always hard to talk about this match, but indeed, it was a tragedy that day. I believe there was no underestimation in the team or someone not being tuned in. No, everyone wanted this very much, starting from the coaching staff and the boys, to reach this final. And we were all tuned in, probably over-tuned - that's the thought. Somewhere it didn't work out for us, it happens when you want something very much, and it doesn't work out. And that's how it was that day. As a conclusion: I think this match should make the team and the club stronger.

- Mladene, are there decisions from that day that you would change if you could go back?

- We probably had the strongest lineup for this match. We had many moments, many shots. I made a conclusion for myself because maybe at halftime, some players needed to be calmed down a bit. It was visible that they wanted it very much, maybe they would have acted a bit calmer. They were tuning themselves, and somewhere in the second half, there was a rush. Maybe that's why we couldn't convert the chances we had. Their goalkeeper also showed courage that day and saved everything that flew towards him.

- Did you sleep that night?

- I didn't sleep for several nights after that match.

- How to return to a normal mental state after this? How to bring yourself back, how to bring the team back?

- The next day I had to show the boys that it's a new day, a new challenge, and we can't change anything anymore. This match is over, it needs to be forgotten. Our next match was against "LNZ," and we had to focus only on this game. Of course, this defeat affected each of the boys differently. Some immediately switched, while others were still processing it for a long time.

- Mladene, do you think this painful defeat in the Cup affected all those draws that followed?

- Maybe you can say that it all had an impact. I believe that after that match, we had a good game right away with "LNZ." We showed good football and could win in that match against a good opponent. I think the match with "Zorya," where we were winning for 90 minutes and conceded a goal in the last minute, also had a significant psychological impact on the following games. If we had won that match, we would have continued to compete on par with "Dynamo," meaning there would have been a chance to fight for the third or fourth place.

- Sometimes fans are very demanding. After defeats, there can be a lot of criticism. How do you generally feel about criticism?

- First of all, I want to thank our fans for their support throughout this season. It's not easy to get to our matches and support us, but there was always support at every match, and we feel it and are very grateful for it. As for criticism towards me, it will always be in football.I, as a football player, felt this, and now as a coach. It's normal when the team doesn't win or we can't win several matches. Of course, in such cases, there will be criticism towards the coach. I try not to get distracted by it and just do my job. It motivates me even more to win the next match.

— So you don't read the comments?

— Sometimes I do. Why not? Because there's always Instagram, Facebook.

— The "block" button, right?

— No, sometimes I can block. Of course, you read Facebook, you come across some comments on the internet, but there are matches after which you don't want to read them.

— If we abstract from this match with "Chernihiv." Recall a moment, maybe a match, that you will remember most often after this season.

— I need to think a bit because there were many moments both positive and not so much... Hadyiev's injury. The match with "Shakhtar" was very positive, but his injury was something very negative for me and the whole team in general.

— I think it also affected the course of events.

— Of course, Hadyiev's injury, then Ari Moura. We didn't have two options in attack, and there were no opportunities for transfers because the transfer window was already closed. We played this round with just two wingers. Of course, it affected the team's performance.

— When were you most proud of your team?

— After the victory over "Dynamo" with a good score. Beating "Dynamo," and then overtaking them in the standings. It was a very, very positive moment.

— How many newcomers does the team need now to strengthen qualitatively?

— I think we need up to five newcomers in this transfer window to strengthen the team.

— Will you determine by positions?

— Of course, we want to add players to the attacking line. Competition in midfield, we also want to add competition in the goalkeeper position and strengthen it.

— How do you see the team in a year?

— A team that will calmly fight for the top positions.

— Will there be medals?

— You're provoking. I really want it, I think our whole club and our president too. We have high goals and ambitions, we all just need to move in that direction and go towards our goals.