The long-awaited start of the season has arrived. Letenští will open it with the evening opening match of the 2nd preliminary round of the Conference League against Viking Stavanger from 19:00 on the home field. The live broadcast is broadcast by ČT sport, you can watch the report online at Sport.cz.
In your preparation, do you take into account the fact that, unlike last season, you have no possibility of correction in the preliminary rounds?
In general, nothing changes in our approach to the game. We have to win and advance to the next preliminary round, which is of course also our goal. We realize that there is no second chance. That’s just the way it is. We will not change how last season turned out, so we will only focus on the task of advancing to the next preliminary round.
Stavanger stands in your way. What kind of opponent is Viking?
It’s a typical Scandinavian team. Well organized, with good structure. They have a quality system that is sophisticated and you can tell they have been building it for several years. They had a very good season last season. They also started the current one very well. They had a bit of a run of results during the summer, suffering from injuries and disciplinary action. But they managed the last two games, so it seems that they have recovered.
We will handle the premiere, assures Jakub Pešek, the hero from last season, before the match with Viking.Video: Sport.cz
The Norwegian league is in full swing. Is this an advantage for Viking?
I don’t want to make excuses, nothing like that. It’s just a fact, our competition hasn’t started yet. It’s also a fact that Viking already has a lot of games in their legs, so they are played. We have only been together for 5 weeks so far, situations may arise that will not be completely clear. Still, I expect the players to give it one hundred percent. We will then file any deficiencies as we go.
On the other hand, is greater cup experience an advantage for Sparta? Stavanger has not gone far in Europe in recent years.
I’m not sure that’s an advantage. But it is definitely important to have different players in the team who have international experience, either from national teams or cups. I’m looking forward to everyone seeing where we’ve come so far on the pitch.
Not financially, but sportingly, it would hurt Sparta if they did not advance in the Conference League.Video: Sport.cz
Two years ago, you knocked out Slavia in the Champions League playoffs with Midtjylland. Do you like front wheels and will you use something from that era again?
It’s not particularly a situation I would enjoy. I like my job, I mainly want to win. You have to have quality and we have that here at Sparta. When you prepare well, whatever it is, you are more likely to win. So it’s all about preparation.
You brought a number of changes in preparation. So far, how satisfied are you with the adaptation of the team to your training process and required intensity?
We’re satisfied. I am happy how we managed to use the preparation. The players adapted quite well. We quickly found that we had to move them. In particular, fitness coach Christian Clarup had to load them a little more, but we didn’t want to overload them again to avoid injuries. We could already see in the preliminaries that the boys are well on their way to achieving the intensity we want to present. It takes time for each of the players to reach the desired level. However, it follows from the data that the team is improving and sticking to the set course.
