“He understood where he was going”: former Spartak footballers and coaches advocate Kononov’s resignation

The capital's Spartak suffered another defeat. As part of the 10th round, the red and white lost to Ufa. The meeting, which took place at the local Neftyanik stadium, ended with a score of 1: 0, while the home team did not strike a single shot on target - Spartak scored for himself.

The author of the only goal was the defender of the red-white Nikolai Rasskazov, who sent the ball into his own goal already at the 13th minute of the meeting.

Thus, the Moscow team suffered a fourth defeat in a row. More metropolitan team lost only in 2004. Then, under the leadership of the Italian specialist Nevio Scala, a series of matches without victories reached six matches. According to its results, the coach was fired.

Fans and experts are waiting for the same decisions from the management of Spartak now. However, team owner Leonid Fedun and CEO Thomas Zorn continue to express public support for the coach.

In addition, Kononov himself in his numerous interviews emphasizes that despite a series of defeats, at the end of the season the team will fulfill the task assigned to it in the RPL.

"How to live on?" Work. Always the black line passes, and the white comes. I believe that with appropriate work and faith in oneself there will be success and victory will come. Spartak will be at the place it is counting on, ”Kononov said after losing to Ufa.

Answering the direct questions about the resignation, which the journalists sharply asked the specialist at the post-match press conference, the coach emphasized that he did not intend to part with the team.

“I am doing my job honestly, I work 24 hours a day. Football players see this, they are with me. I to be in Spartak before victories is the most important thing. I don’t want to talk about other topics. Just remember that it took us a lot of players. We are at the perestroika stage, as the main shareholder is talking about. So you should not wait for the momentary result, ”the coach emphasized.

At the same time, Kononov admitted that he still encountered a number of problems.

“With the advent of new players, everything was not so simple. To some extent, it was a certain surprise that in this connection I can’t quickly give a result. But I continue to believe in my work and that our players are able to progress. They have potential, ”the specialist summed up.

“I’m a Spartak coach. What's next?"

However, colleagues in the workshop do not share optimism from Oleg Kononov. In a conversation with RT, Zorky mentor Sergei Juran suggested that Spartak's head coach could not cope with the task of building the team itself. The expert noted the problems in the formation of the squad and said that it was unlikely that they could be solved promptly by the current coaching staff.

“Players who have come are not able to replace those who were before. And here the main question arises. Did Kononov want them or were they bought without his visa? If the initiative came from the coach, then all that is happening now is his mistake. Why didn’t he react to the problems in the line of attack? It didn’t affect the fact that there was nobody to score in the team. There was a whole transfer window for this, ”the specialist asked.

In addition, Juran suggested that Oleg Kononov should take a tougher stance regarding key decisions in the club and objectively evaluate his capabilities before the appointment.

“He understood where he was going and what criticism he would face. He knew that 80 percent of the country would expect only a positive result from the team. And he was aware of the tasks. Otherwise, it looks like this: I am the coach of Spartak. Point. What's next? If you come to the club as a jacket that you can hang there, then hang it back, then do not expect another result, ”said the former red-white striker.

According to Juran, Oleg Kononov will leave Spartak before the end of the current season.

“Resignation is inevitable. The question is when will it happen, ”he explained.

Under Juran, he named the possible reasons why the 53-year-old specialist does not resign on his own.

“He believes that the crisis can still be overcome. Perhaps takes into account the features of the contract. Typically, agreements are made in such a way that the penalty is paid only in case of dismissal by the club, ”the source said.

At the end of the conversation, Juran admitted that on Kononov’s place, with the greatest probability, he nevertheless said goodbye to the team, without waiting for the notice of dismissal from the leadership.

“You need to find the courage to leave now yourself. Perhaps the fans would have become different. I would say it would be on time, people would understand. Otherwise, you need to be mentally prepared for a new wave of criticism and resentment from Spartak fans, ”said the expert.

“The game is degrading”

Oleg Kononov received critical assessments from his predecessors. So, ex-player and coach of Spartak Andrei Chernyshov said he was ready to accept the team and take it out of the crisis.

“The game is degrading, defeats are no longer a surprise to anyone. Management needs to urgently take action. There is no game at all, so you don’t have to wait for the result. Could I return Spartak to the leading position? Yes, now there is knowledge and experience that did not exist in 2003, ”Sport24 quotes Chernyshov.

To come to the aid of the former team, the Spaniard Raul Riancho also expressed a desire. The specialist, who transferred Spartak to Oleg Kononov in November 2018, said that only full understanding between coaches and players can save the team.

View this Instagram post

🗣 Oleg Kononov: “It is important not to despair and move on” ⠀ - It's always hard to play in Ufa. For large clubs, the local team is doubly tuned. Today we dominated the ball control, but lacked sharp and aggravating gears that could lead to a goal. In defense, with the exception of the conceded goal, we did not allow the opponent so much. This is a positive point. But in the attack, we need to lose less balls at the gates of others, to play more relaxed. Motivation and mood were up to standard. I remind you: we have a young team. She may have ups and downs. But I believe that there will be victories. We will fight. Now it is very important not to despair and move on. I honestly do my job, the players see it, they are with me. We had some good games. But, perhaps, the complex schedule in which we played affected the functional state. A fairly large group of players left, new ones arrived already during the season. It is wrong to wait from the young team for a momentary result in such a situation. To achieve it is not as easy as it might seem from the outside. Moreover, we have moments in every match. I believe that our young ambitious football players will progress - and victories will come. ⠀ # Kononov # Spartak # UfaSpartak

Publication by FC Spartak Moscow (@fcsm_official) Sep 20, 2019 at 11:20 PDT

“Now only his leadership can decide his fate. I think as long as there is a credit of trust, but whether the players trust him, I don’t know. It is very important. If they rely on the coach and believe in him, and in what he says, then everyone needs to be patient. Am I ready to return? Sure. Who will refuse "Spartak", - quotes Riancho Sport24.

The famous Spartak defender Sergey Gorlukovich attacked Oleg Kononov with an angry tirade. The ex-red-white player called on the leadership to immediately say goodbye to the coach, while he could not name his potential successor.

“Kononov is the road to nowhere. In the match, there’s even nobody to distinguish, all faceless. Where next? It’s scary to look at these people. There is no game at all. Maybe this is the ceiling of this coach. I do not exclude that this is how he sees Spartak’s corporate identity, ”the expert said in an interview with Sport-Express.

However, in the Spartak community there were also those who did not begin to connect the current failures of the red-white with the personality of the head coach. According to the ex-forward of the red-white Roman Pavlyuchenko, in the metropolitan team the balance of the level of selection of players and the tasks that are set for them is upset.

“With such a composition, even Guus Hiddink could not have done anything. With all due respect to the players, this Spartak cannot win beautiful victories. So do not blame everything on Kononov. At the training camp, he had one team, now another. For such a short period, it is simply impossible to build a game and establish team actions. So not only the coach is to blame for everything that happens, ”Pavlyuchenko quotes the“ Championship ”.