Russia boss Bilyaletdinov: Bring Bykov back if you don’t like the Euro Tour results

Russian hockey team head coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov hit back at his critics after the team’s second defeat of the Euro Hockey Tour in Sweden.

«The media completely destroyed [former head coach – Sports.ru] Vyacheslav Bykov after his team’s losses at the EHT…»

«Well then, bring him back. I understand that losing is not pleasant, I am not a little boy and don’t like defeats either.»

«What did you tell the players after the game?»

«I explained to them again that they need to learn to play at this level. They need to channel everything through themselves. And then thanked them for the tournament.»

«Are you not disappointed that the team seems to play worse and worse every game?»

«Yes, I noticed that in last night’s game against Sweden we performed worse than in Moscow. We will make the right conclusions from this.»

«Why did it happen?»

«We had a different squad, more young players. At the Karjala Cup the Shirokov-Zubo-Radulov was the difference. Now we tried other combinations and they didn’t work as well. I repeat, that was our conscious choice. And we have many defenders, whom we have not yet invited to the Euro Tour.

«Are you also going to take an experimental line-up to the World Cup?»

«We will try to pick a team that can compete for the medals,» the coach told Sportbox.ru