Contract cancelled

Although we cannot say for certain that Dinamo has enjoyed its best season this year in the KHL Championship, the recent news that Lubomir Pokovic is no longer the head coach of the ‘blues and whites’ club has come as a surprise to all. The decision to part company was made by mutual agreement. The head of Dinamo’s press service — Roman Strongin — refused to comment on the reasons for the move. Andrey Kovalev has been appointed acting head coach. Meanwhile, Dinamo has begun its tour along the Novosibirsk-Novokuznetsk-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok route. Taking into consideration its staffing issues the series is not expected to be easy. However, its first match against Siberia brought victory to the Minsk team. The win is especially valued as Mr. Pokovic’s unexpected leave could have had a negative affect on the team. Moreover, the Belarusians were playing the leaders of the KHL Eastern Conference, although the ‘aurochs’ have already proved, many times this season that they can compete at the highest level.


Lubomir Pokovic’s commentary:

I was pleased with our team’s recent performance. Everyone is aware of our current staffing issues. Not everything went smoothly at the start of the season but we continued winning: we’ve now earned 27 points (some matches were played in reserve). Despite our recent losses to CSKA and Torpedo I have no reason to criticise our players, in fact I was proud to see how the team was struggling and getting through tough times.

Your leaving the team looks even more unexpected against these facts…

Yes, it does. It was due to an incident that happened the previous week but I’m afraid I’m not willing to discuss any details.

Is it somehow connected with the dismissal of a physical training coach — Barry Brennan?

Sorry, I’d rather not comment.

Can you please at least explain: did the club executives insist on your dismissal or was it your choice?

It’s impossible to say categorically. My position became untenable given the situation.