"The first week was intense, but now the focus is on Cracovia"

Over the past months, the schedule for the international breaks didn’t change much – following the last league game, players were given a few days off to recover before a more intense training program. However, this time, following the clash with Jagiellonia (2:3), the players who stayed in Poznań didn’t get any rest but instead continued training as per normal. “It’s not like they didn’t get any time off – they did get time to recover, however, this particular time the schedule was different. After the match with Jagiellonia, the players continued training but at a higher intensity and then they got a few days off this weekend,” explained Kikut.

“The first week of the international break was devoted to intense training – with reason, of course – and was concluded by the training match against KKS Kalisz (4:0). For us, the sparring game wasn’t meant to test the players or try out new tactical elements, but was rather an intense training session since many of the players needed to that increased intensity. Following the training match, players were given the weekend off. The objective was to not only give the players time to rest physically, but also mentally, and for the foreigners to be able to visit their safely before the holidays,” emphasised coach Kikut.

On Monday, Lech players began a normal training microcycle before the upcoming away game with Cracovia, which is scheduled for Saturday, 8 PM. It seems like all players who left for the international break should be available to coach Żuraw for the league match in Cracow. “We are in contact with the players. U-21 footballers play their last game on Monday hence they will have plenty of time to recover. Similarly, Lubomir Šatka should have enough time to recover – even though Slovakia is competing on Tuesday, Lubomir hasn’t played in any of his national team’s games this international break. The only player we’re not sure about is Niki Kvekveskiri but in his case, it’s not about recovery but more about getting him quickly back to Poland after Georgia’s Wednesday match against Greece,” added the Head of Motor Training.