The head coach of Cherno More Ilian Iliev published an emotional position on his personal Facebook profile, in which he took full responsibility for the team's performance during the season. The coach of the “Sailors“ admitted that the team is not performing at the expected level, revealed that he had considered leaving the club, and called on the supporters to support the team in the decisive matches until the end of the campaign.
Here is what Iliev wrote:
"After everything that has been happening in and around the club in recent weeks, I am obliged to clearly and responsibly state my position. I alone bear responsibility for the sports and technical results of Cherno More.
I will not discuss the budget or the number of players in the squad. When we took on the task of building a completely new team, I was aware of the challenge and how difficult it would be, given the important players who have left us in recent years. At this point, I have to admit that we are not doing as well as we all want. We cannot yet integrate the new players into our style of play and the character of the team, and the blame for that lies with me.
I take full responsibility for the team's performance. Twice during this difficult period I was ready to leave, but after conversations and a lot of reflection I decided that I could not leave my hometown club in such a situation. That is why I stayed because I believe that my responsibility is not to run away from the problems, but to do everything possible to help overcome them.
We have six extremely important matches ahead of us, in which we must show a change in both our play and our results. If this does not happen and the team fails to get out of the danger zone by the end of the season, I will take full responsibility.
Despite the well-founded dissatisfaction among the fans, now the team needs support more than ever. The situation is difficult, but the only way out of this situation is to be together. I call on our supporters to stand behind the team in this difficult moment.
The most important thing is the Black Sea. We are all transient, but the club must remain above everything".