These emotions are there, but for a different reason – I feel a great deal of dissatisfaction after the match with Kotwica Kołobrzeg (1:1), which we simply should have won for several reasons: firstly, because of the situation in the table, secondly, Kotwica, with a transfer ban, has their hands tied and a very limited squad, thirdly, we played a good match and had many good situations. We feel angry after this match.
The Kotwica team went to the last match in Rzeszow with 13 people. Back to Stal. I think the biggest shame was the points lost in matches where the opponents' goals were scored after obvious mistakes, like in both matches with Górnik Łęczna, when you conceded goals in the last minutes.
In the first round against Górnik we conceded a goal in the last minute of added time. In the return match in Łęczna, the opponent also scored at the end. In both of these matches, we made too simple mistakes. However, I would go back to the first match, in which we had a lot of clear situations, we fought. I could mention other matches: for example, with Chrobry Głogów - we draw, we have a penalty that Adam Imiela does not use. I can remind you of the match with Warta Poznań at the beginning of the season. We also functioned better in Opole for a long time.
There are four extremely important matches ahead of you, with teams that will be fighting for survival. First Warta Poznań and Chrobry Głogów. Then Odra Opole and Pogoń Siedlce. If you want to score points, now is the time.
Yes, the first five games in the spring are with teams from our area. We started with Kotwica. This is the moment when, if we want to realistically think about staying up, we have to jump above the line.
The fans' opinions are divided: some believe that the club's decision is a good move, others believe that you should be thanked.
I am not surprised by either positive or negative votes. Football is about emotions and some people, looking at the position in the table, assume that since we lost at Kotwica, because a draw in Kołobrzeg must be treated as a loss, it is worth deciding to change the coach. You do not make a deeper analysis, you just feel these emotions, which is natural. The other part believes that the team can get out of these problems with me on the bench. This is a natural thing. There are many fans in the city for whom Stal is very important, which is why they are interested in the club. And there will always be these emotions. Some people will support, and some will decide to criticize. Natural history.
Ireneusz Pietrzykowski during the match between Stal and Arka Gdynia (Photo: FOTO MATEUSZ SLODKOWSKI / CYFRASPORT/NEWSPIX.PL / newspix.pl) Can we expect changes, for example, in defense? Will new players get a chance?
Yes, it can happen. We are looking for solutions that will make the team function better.
What did the autumn round teach you? The second level of the game, Stal sensationally advanced, for the second time in a row. The goals were different then. So on the one hand great joy, and on the other wondering whether you will cope?
It taught me that in Betclic 1. Liga you need to show a lot of quality on the pitch. This season there are many teams in the league that have set themselves the goal of promotion to the Ekstraklasa and have done a lot to get there. Finances translate directly into the quality of the players. Just look at what some of the squads look like. At the beginning of the season, Stal, as a newcomer, had too little quality. Now we tried very hard to change the team and I hope we succeeded. When it comes to tactical and motor matters, there is no way we can surprise anyone. Everything is one step higher and we are also trying to adapt to that.
You mention quality, it is also mentioned when the club signs contracts with new players. However, to extract this quality, very often players need a bit more time, some are not yet ready to give 100% straight away. The question is, how is it at Stal right now? Are all the players brought in in the winter ready to fight for survival?
Of course, because we have no margin for error – we simply do not have time for a longer preparation of the team. What counts is the here and now. The new players are ready to play. Especially since the first five matches in the spring round will determine our future. The preparation period in winter is long, it is six weeks, and the players we brought in joined us relatively quickly. There is no other option, we had to prepare them for the here and now.
A similar situation, although admittedly it's a club with a much bigger budget: Polonia Warszawa under Rafał Smalec achieved two promotions in a row. Despite this, with weaker results, the Black Shirts changed their coach. Aren't you afraid of a similar scenario in Stalowa Wola?
I'm not focused on that at all. We're doing everything we can to win the next match with Warta. It's good that you pointed out that compared to Polonia Warsaw, we operate at a much different budget speed.
The club announced on Monday morning that the new player of Stal was striker Jonathan Junior, who left Radomiak very quickly. Were you relieved that they managed to bring in a new striker?
The saga of searching for a striker ended on the penultimate day of the transfer window, but we have acquired a really quality player. That is very good, because we have certainly watched dozens of strikers, close to "a hundred" for this position. Jonathan is a player who can be rated as one of the best among those we have watched and who were available. I am all the more happy, because for a long time it seemed that a player of such caliber would be unavailable to us, but fortunately we managed to complete such a transfer.
