My future is connected to Dunav, we laid good foundations this season, but we have a lot of work ahead of us in the summer, because we need to build on and improve the competition in the team. This was stated by the head coach of the “dragons“ Georgi Chilikov for the club website after the end of the season in the Second League championship. In the last round, the team from Ruse defeated the second team of CSKA in Sofia 2:1, BTA reported.
Nevertheless, they remained in sixth place in the standings with 64 points, the same as fifth-placed Yantra (Gabrovo), only one point less than Marek's team (Dupnitsa), which with its fourth position in the standings secured a play-off to enter the elite against Lokomotiv (Plovdiv).
„There is bitterness, but that's football. I congratulated the boys for the season we had. To collect so many points in such a difficult group as the Second League is a good achievement. We had some challenges, especially with the breadth of the squad. At some points, our hands were literally tied when the penalties and injuries came, and at the most important moments of the season. Some of the players held on, others failed physically or mentally, but we never once fell into a crisis and a series of bad results. Yes, we lost matches and points, but we immediately got up and returned to the winning path“, said Chilikov.
He also congratulated the rivals in the fight for fourth place, noting again that the forces in the Second League championship this season were very even.
„The teams of Marek and Yantra also had a very good season. The Second League is very equal and anyone can beat anyone. The truth is that we ourselves are to blame, because we had several moments that we can return to and look for points. There were unnecessary cards that cost us a lot in the respective matches. All the players raised their level. We have many young players who have taken a step forward, but I am a maximalist and I want more, because the opposite would mean being satisfied with some average level. This is what I try to convey to the players - to always be hungry for victories“, said the senior coach of Dunav.
He noted that during the winter break it was more difficult to work on the selection and now, in the summer, the necessary efforts will be made in this direction.
“My future is connected to Dunav, because firstly I have a contract, but secondly - I will be happy to build on next year and be one of the leading teams in the group again. We have a lot of work to do in the selection and in creating competition. We have all the other conditions, but you just saw that without competition this year played a pretty bad joke“, said Georgi Chilikov.