One of the leaders of Lokomotiv Plovdiv - Dimitar Iliev shared that the thought that the team could be relegated never crossed his mind, sportal.bg reported.
On the contrary, according to the captain of the "Smurfs" the team can get out of the difficult situation.
There were probably not many people before the start of the 2024/25 season who believed that Lokomotiv Plovdiv would occupy the position it is currently in. Especially in view of what was shown during the past campaign. A nightmare season that must be ended in a positive way.
The result against Heber in the last match of the "Smurfs" was also positive, but Dušan Kosić's players again did not convince with their performance on the field. And yet, in difficult moments, the leaders come to the fore.
Dimitar Iliev brought the success with a goal in the 72nd minute, but even the fact that Plovdiv grabbed the three points did not warm the soul of the 36-year-old football player.
"First of all, I am not satisfied with myself, in particular, and with the game and with the team in the important moments, in terms of motivation, because Heber's team has already been relegated. There is nothing to play for, there is no motivation. We have to fight for every point of life and death, and you don't look at it that way. Maybe I attribute it to the great pressure. I have played in a final, I have played for cups with this team. The situation we have reached is much more difficult to play in. Maybe this stiffens the legs not only of the young players, but also of the experienced players. Maybe when the match does not go well for us, as it did with Krumovgrad, but today we concede a goal, we start to think about what will happen if we lose. And indeed, in the crucial moments we were not persistent enough, calm enough“, Iliev shared with “Diema“.
“We have a situation to close the match, we do not manage to score and after one minute, they may not equalize. And in general, we have to improve many, many things if we want to win the upcoming 3 matches, which is the task, because only then will we have any chance of not going through a play-off“.
A club like Lokomotiv Plovdiv does not deserve to be involved in the battle for survival. The circumstances now, however, are such that Dimitar Iliev and his teammates will have to deal with the difficult situation they find themselves in. But how could the problems be eradicated?
"This situation is not normal for absolutely anyone. And the fact that we have come this far shows that absolutely everyone in the club is to blame. Especially the players, but we have come this far. We have come this far. Only we are the people who can get the club out of the mud, save ourselves and start thinking from the summer how things can improve, because Lokomotiv really cannot continue to look like this throughout the season", the captain also said.
Three finals remain for the "black and white".
"I am convinced that in this part of the table, as units and as a team, we are one of the highest quality teams. I haven't even thought about direct relegation. It's even crossed my mind. But the point is that we've made things so difficult for ourselves that not everything depends on us. We have to do it this way, win all the matches and hope for a favorable development for the others," he added.