Cherchesov wants new period of Russia success

Stanislav Cherchesov wants to start building for a new period of success for Russia at the Confederations Cup.

Russia reached the semi-finals of Euro 2008 but failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup and have not progressed beyond the group stages in their three subsequent major tournaments.

Former Legia Warsaw coach Cherchesov will take charge of his first competitive game at the helm of the host nation against New Zealand in St Petersburg on Saturday.

The 53-year-old has presided over just three wins in his first nine matches in charge but hopes to restore Russia to their former glories having struggled in recent years.

“We have been changing a lot and it is a privilege to represent our country at such a high level,” Cherchesov told a pre-match news conference.

“We had some successes but it’s only natural that we will want to bring forward the tradition of success.

“I wouldn’t say in the past years we have been winning a lot of tournaments, but of course we want to achieve more than we have achieved in the past several years in terms of football.

“Last week we were watching some games that they [New Zealand] had been playing. We know who can do what and I will not name any players.

“We will have a training session tonight and we have to do some fine-tuning.”

I’m watching you (c) pic.twitter.com/sYoIWDChWh

— Сборная России (@TeamRussia) June 15, 2017

Experienced goalkeeper Vladimir Gabulov believes Russia are ready to make their mark in a group that also includes Portugal and Mexico, stating they “are ready to fight”.

Gabulov said: “I wouldn’t say this is a very young team, I believe our team members are in their prime and these are ambitious guys.

“They are sure of what they are doing, they know how to play and therefore we have a very good team. We are ready to fight.

“If somebody needs advice I have a lot to give out but everyone understands what they should do on the pitch to achieve positive results.”