On July 14, Yerevan will host the return match of the first qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League between Ararat and Shkendija.

Pre-match press conference of Ararat head coach Aram Voskanyan took place today.

The head coach of our team spoke about the losses and noted that the name Ararat is already a motivation for them.

“Fortunately, there are no serious injuries and losses before the second leg. Babou Cham has only a minor injury. Of course, the club has set a bonus fee, but it is important for us to represent the nation, this is Ararat and that's it. The reward is secondary.

It is true that it is difficult to build a team, and a new philosophy in a short amount of time, but there are enough existing players, although we are working on new additions.

We wanted 1-2 players to join us before the start of the Conference League, but for some reason, this did not happen.

Speaking about the previous game, Voskanyan said:

“In the second half, we changed tactics, in the first half we had good chances: Hrayr Mkoyan, Glisic, Edgar Malakyan. In such games, you must use these features. The opponent is the "Die Hard" team.

At the beginning of the second half, they tried to play attacking football, but they did not have enough physical preparation. We realized that we missed a lot of counterattacks. It was not worth the risk, because we saw that the physical condition of the opponent is better. I have always said that it is necessary to prepare for European competitions from January. In other words, from January you need to start laying the foundation of your physical form and work on replenishing the team. A number of leaders have left our team, and during this time you cannot even create a miracle with a magic wand. In the second half of the first game, we missed some sharp counterattacks and therefore decided to play more reliably.

Aram Voskanyan added that they want to go to the next round and approach each game with the expectation of winning.

“Even if there are no problems, every coach takes the field to win. We have experienced players in the team who want to go to the next round. There is a problem, but there is no clear obligation. The club's management understands everything, and the team's guys and the coaching staff are preparing for tomorrow's game in a fighting mood. I cannot say that we have a clear task to overcome one or two stages," Voskanyan said.