Pavel Pogrebnyak: How do you say in English «Drinks are on me?»

Fulham Russian striker Pavel Pogrebnyak spoke to Sovetsky sport about his impressions of his debut match against Stoke, in which his side won 2-1.

«I won’t hide it, I got the jitters before the match. Even though I’ve played abroad for a while, it is still a new team for me and I only trained for three days. The guys still haven’t quite adapted to my style, but things will improve with time,» the Russian admitted.

«After the match Martin Jol said ten minutes was enough for you to settle in the Premier League. Do you concur?»

«He said that? Well, the gaffer knows better. But it was pretty hard at first, though I can say that I definitely experienced the English game now. We were playing against a typical English side, who play aggressively and lob the ball forward to Peter Crouch, who is good in the air. The ref lets the teams play, which is good, he doesn’t break the flow of the game.»

«How did the manager prepare you to this new style of play?»

«The prematch training here is very interesting. Day before the match each player got an iPad with videos of each Stoke defender and goalkeeper, so that we understand how they tackle and defend. And then before the game Jol would explain in detail how best to deal with the opposition players.»

«What did he call their tactics – ‘long balls’?»

«That’s too simple. More like ‘long balls played towards Crouch’.»

«In Germany you said you got together after victories to celebrate. Anything like that in England?»

«Of course, we are planning to go out on Monday and I have to come up with something for the lads. By the way, how do you say «Drinks on me» in English?»