Roman Rotenberg speaks after beating Spartak in Moscow

HC SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg:

- We knew that Spartak defend well. When preparing for this game, we took this into account while also analysing our mistakes which were committed against CSKA. The guys did a good job, they followed the game plan. However, we did also make errors, and our powerplay didn't work either. We will continue to work and prepare for the next match.

- After the showdown against CSKA on Monday, how difficult was it to find motivation for this game? Spartak aren't such a big opponent as CSKA.

- Every game is very important, and Spartak are strong opponents. We have a lot of details which require improvement. In terms of the way in which we followed the game plan, our performance today was better than against CSKA. Our first period against CSKA was our worst of the entire season so far. I want to thank our players for competing for each other today and playing with emotions, even though the schedule is tough.

- You made a lot of line changes throughout this match.

- We make line changes in accordance with the situation on the ice. We're happy that Marat Khusnutdinov has returned! When it comes to fatigue, then our players can become tired

mentally, not physically. The schedule is demanding. Taking into account that we are using a lot of emotions in all of our games, it's vital to communicate well as a group and with our doctors. Sometimes, you can see that a player is tired emotionally not long after a particular game has started. We always play in accordance with the same system, so the guys can easily replace each other in our lines.

- Why did you move Khusnutdinov up to the first line with Dmitrij Jaskin and Damir Zhafyarov?

- Marat gave us emotions and energy. I am happy that we managed to create this line. At first, he was our 13th forward, but after he moved up to the first line we started scoring goals. As always, I would like to focus on the team performance overall rather than individuals, it's a team effort! The players worked hard, blocking pucks, landing hits and scoring important markers. The next match at home is very important for us, we only have 24 hours in which to prepare for it.

- Dmitry Nikolaev is playing in all of your games. How is he managing to keep in such great shape?

- This is down to the efforts of our coaching staff. We are always talking with our goalkeeping coaches about how to prepare for matches. At the same time, we're trying to improve our defensive game in order to protect the goaltender the best we can.

- Will Alexander Samonov soon return?

- Yes. Thankfully, after sustaining such a bad injury, Samonov is now close to returning. We'll see him again soon.

- Are you satisfied with the physical condition of your players?

- We can never be satisfied! There is always something which can be improved. We are constantly working, we have excellent physical conditioning coaches. We are constantly working on our physical shape, our guys are spending a lot of time inside the gym.

- You received a fine from the KHL after the game with CSKA. Did this affect you?

- Ice hockey is a game of emotions. Gestures can be interpreted in different ways. Perhaps my emotions took over for that incident, it was a vital win for us. We directed all of our emotions for that match, that victory. Once again, I would like to emphasise that I have huge respect for our opponents and the referees. You can't win without emotions.

- Before returning to SKA, Vasily Glotov had poor faceoff statistics. However, they have subsequently improved.

- We have helped him psychologically. Vasily was happy to return to SKA, he had wanted this for a long time. He received important experience with Sochi. We're always working on our faceoffs, but I think that they mainly depend on how you feel mentally. We have to improve our faceoffs, we are not happy with our statistics in this regard. Dmitrij Jaskin can take faceoffs, as can Danila Moiseev who will soon return.

- SKA often seem to start matches slowly, because you know that you can improve later on.

- We have to improve. If we take the first period against CSKA as an example, then we didn't play well at all. People have shown faith in us to lead SKA, and we can't let the fans down. We are always communicating as a team. You have to make changes along the way sometimes, this is a part both of sport and general life.