Turan: "Regarding the Champions League, unfortunately we are not fully ready yet"

Shakhtar head coach Arda Turan assessed the team's preparation for competing in the Champions League.

 "As for the Champions League, unfortunately, we are not fully ready yet. I have to be honest, of course I am not happy with it. Sometimes in football it happens: you reach a certain level of preparation, and then a kind of stagnation begins. It is important for us to get through this phase as quickly as possible and continue to move forward, towards progress and improvement."

"We have a lot of travel and border crossings ahead of us. In my opinion, in football, especially at such a high level as the Champions League, the most important advantage is the opportunity to play on our own field. Unfortunately, for obvious reasons, we are currently deprived of our home. Therefore, I think that from this point of view, our path in the Champions League will be the most difficult, because, unlike the other 35 teams in the tournament, we are the only ones who cannot host opponents in their real home stadium," Turan was quoted as saying by the club's official website.