Igor Volkhin: "Our defense isn’t perfect yet, but we are working on it every day"
The blue-whites forward shared his thoughts ahead of the game against UNICS. The meeting of the 3rd round of the United League will be held on September 29 in Kazan. The beginning is at 14:00 St. Petersburg time.
— Zenit had a confident start to the new season. What are your impressions from the games against MBA-MAI and Avtodor?
— The impressions are only positive since we won both games. These two games showed that we are still in the process of getting used to each other. Things didn’t always go smoothly, but in the end, we secured both victories. These matches made it clear that we still have a lot to work on.
— The team seems to be deciding the outcomes of the games in the second half so far. What does that indicate?
— In both games, we started the second half with a more aggressive defense. We need to try and start every match with this same aggression to prevent the opponent from getting into the game. As the coach says, we need to build our entire game starting from defense because once that clicks, everything starts working offensively as well.
— Zenit has scored over 100 points in two games. Will the team look completely different offensively this season?
— Of course, it would be great if we could score 100 points in every game. But we shouldn’t forget about defense. If we keep working hard and learning from each other, we’ll be happy to surpass the 100-point mark every time. The season is long. We will keep striving.
— The head coach emphasized that Zenit’s defense is still far from where it should be. How can the team improve in the near future? What are your expectations for Zenit's 11th season, which coincides with the club’s anniversary year?
— As I mentioned, we are still in the early stages of development, getting used to each other. Maybe not everything is clicking defensively, but we work on it every day. We're getting better and better. We aim to bring everything we practice into our games. I believe this will bring the desired results. As for the expectations this season, it's all about winning the championship. We have a long road ahead, with many games. Our goal is clear — to bring the title back to St. Petersburg and make our fans happy.
— The upcoming game is against UNICS. This will be your third match against the team from Kazan in a month. What are you expecting from the trip to Tatarstan?
— Our mindset is fully focused on winning. Everyone understands this will be a tough game, especially since it's an away game. We came here to win, and we will do everything possible to make that happen. It’s going to be a hard game.
