Sparta football coach Brian Priske does not care if his charges are the main favorites for the title in the rest of the league season. The Prague team won 2:0 in the 26th round at the last Pardubice pitch, triumphed for the ninth time in a row in the highest competition and moved to the top of the table by two points ahead of city rivals Slavia, who they will face next Saturday.
The Danish coach expects that after the 0:4 league debacle in Eden in October, the Spartans will know how to not only play the derby, but also how to win it.
“I don’t know if we are the favourites, that’s up to you (journalists). I don’t care if we are or not. If you’re in Sparta, you have to win the title, it’s very simple. I don’t care who the favorite is. We have to our job. We’ve had a good run of results and performances. It gives you a good feeling that we’re where we want to be. But there’s still a lot of games left in the league, nine. It’s going to be a tough fight but we’ll do everything to achieve our biggest goal,” Priske said at a press conference.
Sparta has not lost 16 competitive matches in a row since the heavy defeat at Slavia. At that time, she did not manage the match in Eden not only in terms of results, but also mentally. “I agree that we were not mentally prepared for Slavia then, we were not prepared enough for the derby. Now we will play at home. That defeat almost six months ago was a big lesson. I expect everyone to realize how not only to play the derby, but how to win it,” said the 45-year-old native of Horsens.
After Slavia, Letenské is waiting for Slovácko, Plzeň and Liberec before the end of the regular season. “I don’t know if it’s an advantage, we have to play with everyone, the same in the superstructure. The most important thing is ourselves. We focus on ourselves, on our style of play and discipline in the team. There are a lot of points in the game, it will be a long battle. It was it would be foolish to look too far ahead. We just have to focus on the next game. My job with my colleagues is to keep the players in the present and keep working hard every day,” noted Priske.
He praised captain Ladislav Krejčí the younger, who, together with Jan Kuchta, decided the match in Pardubice with a goal. The 23-year-old Czech representative only needed 11 duels to score eight league goals.
“He is one of the biggest hearts in the team and the most capable leaders of his age. He takes care of the cabin, but it is also important to mention Pavelka, Čelůstka and Panák. They give the team a positive atmosphere and experience. In this regard, (Krejčí) has good support. His the character is amazing. We are very happy to have him in the team. I am looking forward to his statistics when he plays 50 games,” said the former coach of Midtjylland and Antwerp.
After an hour of play, he replaced striker Tomáš Čvančara, who, however, could not stand it. “I’ll talk to him, but it’s a closed matter for me. I wanted him to go to Kar (Karabac), show him respect, shake his hand and wish him good luck for the rest of the game. But he didn’t want to go to him, so we they told him to go to the cabin. He realized he overstepped the bounds and made a mistake. He then apologized to everyone during the post-match round,” said the former Danish international or Portsmouth player.
“We work with young guys with amazing talent, great potential, but also egos. That’s important, that also makes them good players. But they have to realize that they have to do everything for the team. Winning the title requires a team effort. We don’t need egos that will more than a team. We need egos to align with the team. The key for everyone at the club is that we are one team and no one is above them. We do everything for each other,” added Priske.
