Ruslan Babenko: "New season - new challenges, but the goal remains unchanged"

Captain of "Polissya" Ruslan Babenko published an open letter to the team's fans in a personal column on the club's official website.

The leader of Zhytomyr shared about the preparation of the "wolves" for the new season, European competitions, the atmosphere in the team, the adaptation of newcomers, and the importance of fan support for the team.

"The new season has already begun, and I want to share with you what the team has been living for the past weeks.

First of all - the training camp in Austria. It was very intense and challenging. We did a lot of work, but that's exactly why we went there. Such training camps are the foundation of the whole season. There were many training sessions, many demands, a lot of self-improvement work. But now we understand that we are well-prepared for official matches.

Austria, as always, left pleasant impressions. Wonderful landscapes, good working conditions, quality organization. All this allowed us to fully focus on football.

During this time, newcomers joined us. They were warmly welcomed by the team. Leo showed himself as an open, hardworking, and sociable person from the first days. Thanks to his knowledge of English and Portuguese, he quickly found a common language with the guys. Araujo joined a little later, so he is still adapting, but it is already evident that he is a good guy. I am sure they will quickly become a full part of our team.

The European campaign is already behind us. Enough has been said about those matches, so there is no point in looking back now. We have drawn conclusions, gained important experience, and must use it in the future. If we were to highlight someone among the opponents, it would be Robert. Three goals and earned penalty in two matches speak for themselves.

But we started the Ukrainian championship just as we wanted. The victory in Odesa was very important for the whole team. It was especially valuable because it was a display of willpower. We were behind in the score, but managed to show character, turn the game around, and take three points. Such matches help the team become stronger and add confidence at the start of the season.

We recently saw the renovated Central City Stadium "Polissya". The impressions are truly wonderful. It is evident how much work has been done. New seats, modern skyboxes, more comfortable conditions for fans - all this indicates that the club is developing and moving forward. Our president is doing a lot to make football in Zhytomyr better, and our task is to respond to this with our game.

And finally, I want to address our fans.

We always feel your support. At home and away, it gives us strength. Thank you to everyone who comes to the stadium, who cheers for the team, who believes in us.

A long season is ahead. There will be bright victories, there will be challenging moments. But we really want you to be by our side always. We, on our part, will do everything possible to give you as many reasons to be proud with our game, dedication, and results.

See you in the stands!" - wrote Babenko.

The next match of "Polissya" will take place on Monday, August 10. In the second round of the UPL, Zhytomyr will face "Kharkiv". The game starts at 15:30.