Roman Rotenberg speaks about the upcoming series against Spartak Moscow

HC SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg:

- We've been training well during the break, the guys have been working as hard as possible. We have worked on all of the details from the series against Dinamo Minsk - both tactically and physically - which required improvement. The players have done a good job. Tomorrow, we will train in the morning before the match subsequently takes place in the evening. The most important game for us is always the next one.

- How much have you focused on the games against Spartak Moscow from the regular season?

- We prepare seriously for any opponent. We held a video analysis, studying the opponent's tactics and all of their players. We analysed all of our three matches against Spartak this season and the games from the previous campaign, the backbone of their team has remained the same despite the coaching changes. We've been looking at how their coaches work and how their team competes in all zones. We have studied all of the details.

- Do you have any injured players?

- This is the playoffs, everyone tries their best when playing and training. When the guys give 100%, there is always the possibility of picking up injuries, this is a part of the sport.

In any case, we are moving forward and preparing for the next match. Just like all teams, we do have injury issues, but there is no need to focus on this and share the details. If we would have trained without so much effort, the chance of receiving injuries would have been less, but we always work more than at 100%. We are calm when it comes to possible injuries.

- How is the situation concerning foreign players within the team?

- Everything's fine, they are all with us. We don't split the team up between Russians and foreigners, all of them are training hard. Of course, there is no limit to perfection, but we are satisfied with how they're working. Questions about their departure are not appropriate: we are working as usual, there are no additional comments to be made on this matter.

- Spartak haven't played in any official games for two months. Can SKA use this as an advantage?

- We are taking all factors into account, but we're focusing on our own game. Obviously, we aren't going to reveal our tactics. We always try to play on the front foot, especially at home. We can change our approach in accordance with the situation. Overall, SKA always like to play in an attacking manner and to make the fans happy.

- Alexei Zhamnov is helping Spartak prepare for this series. Does this make these games even more important?

- Alexei has long been working with Spartak, we've met before. This doesn't change anything for us. We're colleagues, we are both working for the benefit of ice hockey. Our main motivation is to win, nothing else. Spartak's coaches are focused on their work and we're thinking about ours.

- What do you think about these playoffs so far? It seems that everyone knew that SKA, CSKA Moscow and Dynamo Moscow would all advance from the first phase of the competition.

- I don't agree that everyone knew this would be the case. All games are difficult, including our matches with Dinamo Minsk. We have to give credit to Minsk's coaches and players, they have a lot of strong players from Sweden for example. They surprised us with their tactics, regularly changing their approach shorthanded and in the neutral and defensive zones. Minsk mainly competed in a Canadian manner, we had a lot of difficulties to overcome. Yes, the series score was 4-0, but the games gave us the opportunity to reach a new level. If we talk about different series, then yes, we have been watching all matches in both the Western and Eastern conferences. Furthermore, we're also watching our MHL and VHL teams, as a lot of the SKA system players have the chance to participate in the KHL Gagarin Cup playoffs. We're working around the clock to develop our players and achieve positive results.

- What are Spartak's strengths and weaknesses?

- If we start talking about tactical details, our conversation will continue for a few hours. All teams are fully motivated when competing against SKA. Their task is to play in a very physical manner against us, we can see this when it comes to other teams of the SKA system. For example, we watched Krylya Sovetov Moscow play against SKA-1946 in the MHL in a physical way. These are the weapons which teams use against us. No one needs extra motivation when playing against SKA. From our point of view, we are focusing on our own game. Moreover, I want to point out that for the first time, there are no restrictions concerning the amount of supporters allowed to attend the Ice Palace. We are looking forward to seeing everyone at the arena! We're grateful for how our fans supported us during the series against Dinamo Minsk, and we are waiting for them at our games with Spartak. The fans are key for us!