The CSKA captain told the club press service how he marked the historical record in the number of games for the team, about the presence of his parents at the game with SKA and preparation for the game against Severstal as well.
- I spent the weekend with my family after the game with SKA. In two months, there were a lot of games every other day, so I tried to spend more time at home with my family.
- How did your family congratulate you on the record for most games played in the club's history?
- Without praises, the kids don’t understand yet, so there was just family dinner. We talked about everything, remembered pleasant moments. I spent the evening in a warm family circle.
- At the game with SKA you were honored for the record-breaking 536th game in CSKA history in the club's jersey. At that moment your parents were sitting in the stands. Did that motivate you or do you feel a little nervous?
- I'm very pleased they were there. For me, it's a tribute to all their hard work and everything they put into me. I saw that they got a lot of attention during the game, but I, on the contrary, tried not to think about it, because it was the game and we had to concentrate on it as much as possible.
- Does beating SKA, the conference leader, add to your confidence or it doesn't matter which opponent you beat, the main thing is getting two points?
- I think we had a good, solid game in terms of the game quality and course. We were tuned for this game; they're the leaders of our conference, so it was interesting to test ourselves in the game against an opponent like that. It should give us an understanding of what level of play we should stick to in the future.
- We have a week break in the championship. How are you preparing for the second half of the regular season?
- We had a good run today, it was a little bit hard in some moments, but probably because of the weekend. We got a lot of work after the rest and it was hard to get back into the rhythm, but it was more of a psychological issue. Now we have three days, I think we will get the load to play well in the upcoming stage of the championship.
- Our next opponent has 9 wins in a row. What can we expect in the game with Severstal?
- Definitely, they've picked up the pace. The team is playing and winning. They're very close to us in the table. And all in all, we have a very tough fight in the conference this season. I think you have to find a way of playing with any team. Our opponent will try to impose its game and we'll have to adjust to the situation. But first of all, we have to rely on our own game. We must prepare, tune up and toe the line.
