Roman Rotenberg speaks after beating Spartak in Moscow

HC SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg:

- It was an interesting, tough match. We wanted to make the packed stadium happy with entertaining ice hockey. The second period wasn't good, but we regrouped for the third. The guys did a great job, they worked hard for this very important win. We will now prepare for our next game.

- SKA's last two matches in Moscow have been true thrillers. How have they been for you as a coach?

- The job of the coaching staff is to help the team win. Today, our players reacted to their mistakes in the correct manner. We really wanted to win today, we were competing against a strong, talented team here in Moscow. We will analyse the mistakes which we committed. In the third period, it's important that we played in accordance with our system. When we play like that, we display a completely different level of ice hockey. We want to play the entire 60 minutes like that. I'm grateful to the team for achieving the victory, I am proud that we managed to claim the two points in such a difficult game. November promises to be a tough month, though, we have to fly to the Far East. We must be fully prepared.

- This game went the same way as the match against Dynamo Moscow did on Friday. Why?

- We lost concentration. Furthermore, we're receiving a lot of injuries, Emil Galimov had to leave the match. I am glad that our players are in great physical shape, we had to play with only three lines in the end today. They're coping with the challenge, you saw for yourselves how they improved in the third frame. Of course, we always study the opponents before matches begin, but you can never tell how they will turn out. Our players should be ready physically and psychologically for any situation.

- Have you changed your approach on the powerplay against Spartak? Marat Khusnutdinov was in a different position for Dmitrij Jaskin's goal.

- We are always watching how opposing teams compete on special teams. It's like a game of chess, you have to outwit your opponent with your move. Our defensemen can shoot the puck really well, so we have to block the goalkeeper's view, win the battles on the slot and win the duels for neutral pucks. We have a lot of work ahead of us.

- Did you pull Dmitry Nikolaev after the second period because he was tired? He saved 39 of 43 shots during the maiden 40 minutes of play.

- I spoke with him in the second break, and I could tell that he was running out of strength. After all, he's only just returned from injury. Spartak were great today, we had to search for the key to victory. Alexander Samonov was solid after he entered the game. It's a team win, everyone played their part! We used our reserves and won the match.

- How difficult is it to find players for your way of playing the game?

- Everything depends on the players. Yes, the development of a player depends on the coach, but players also have to take information the right way. This doesn't depend on age either, Evgeny Ketov has played under many different systems. We've been working for SKA together across the past 10 years! You must have good movement and skating, ice hockey intelligence and adaptability. It's not an easy process, it can take years to create an effective system. We are obliged to help all SKA players develop. Everyone in our team can play total ice hockey, but time is required. You simply have to work hard with discipline.

- Are you a superstitious person? You had a hole in your trousers after beating Dynamo!

- I had to give my trousers to a tailor! The first time when this happened was last season against Spartak in the playoffs, my trouser leg was completely torn! Luckily, I had a spare pair with me. We won that particular match in overtime.

- Are you keeping an eye on Andrei Kuzmenko's performances for Vancouver in the NHL?

- I am tracking everyone's progress. Andrei is scoring from the crease, this is something which we had worked on during the previous campaign. We wish him luck and health, just like everybody who previously played for the SKA system. Spartak have a lot of players who used to play for us.

- What can you say about Evgeny Ketov's performance in this game?

- We win together. Evgeny scored a really important goal in this match. We spoke with him after the game, and he is now starting from a clean slate. We're happy that he scored today!