"We don't want to fight for survival — our priority is to be in the top 8"

This season, Orenburg RPL got off to a good start: after four rounds, Ildar Akhmetzyanov's team scored five points and is in seventh place. At the same time, the Orenburg team could have counted on more — for example, in the match of the last round with Moscow Lokomotiv (1:1), where they missed a penalty and missed several more dangerous moments. In the Russian Cup, the team is still performing in contrast: a major defeat from Spartak (1:5) was replaced by a confident victory over Rodina (4:1).

In an interview with Izvestia, Orenburg midfielder Dmitry Rybchinsky appreciated the team's start to the season, spoke about the productive game of 18-year-old RPL debutant Andrei Kasadzhikov and spoke about the club's goals for the championship.

— How would you rate Orenburg's start to the season?

— Emotions are moderate. I wanted to achieve more in the championship. We could have won the last game against Lokomotiv. If you look at the statistics of how many shots we scored on the opponent's goal in that match, then the game was given to us. And we are unhappy with the draw. Before that, they could have won the match against Rubin. But in the end, we didn't get enough points, so we'll fix the situation. It's good that we won the last Cup game. Now we will focus all our efforts on improving the situation in the championship. We need to keep adding.

— Are you satisfied with the quality of the game? Can we say that we have maintained the level that helped us improve in the spring and escape from relegation from the RPL?

— I would not make parallels with last season. Yes, we played well in the spring. And it's great that it brought a good result, which helped us in the hard struggle to keep our registration in the RPL. But we don't have time to be satisfied with this. The tasks are different now. We must try to score maximum points in every game.

— What do you attribute the success of your young striker Andrei Kasadzhikov to this summer?

— A good young player with great potential. Well done for scoring, giving passes, clinging to the chance. It's great that we have such a player.

— Can you call him the best young RPL player at the moment?

— I don't know, it's not for me to decide. Let the fans evaluate.

— Your teammate Danila Vedernikov asked the media not to pay too much attention to Kasadzhikov, otherwise we might overrate him. In your opinion, can such an interest in a young player from the media really hinder his career?

— I don't know, everything depends on him. It depends on his attitude to the case.

— When did you first gain a foothold at the RPL level at the base of Lokomotiv, did the increased public attention affect you?

— Yes, it's hard to say. In my opinion, it did not affect. Anyway, I didn't feel much attention, or I was able to ignore it.

— Your native Lokomotiv is at the bottom of the table, lagging behind Orenburg and selling the leaders — Alexey Batrakov, Artyom Karpukas, Dmitry Vorobyov. How do you view the situation at your former club?

— I'm not looking at it. I haven't been a Lokomotiv player for a long time. I am not aware of their internal cuisine. I'm more interested in what's going on with Orenburg right now.

— What can Orenburg claim this season?

— It is clear that we do not want to fight for survival — our priority is to be as high as possible in the table. We will try to score points as much as possible. Our goal is to be in the top 8, at least in the top 10. And then we'll see.