Team rotation strategy negatively impacted Spartak towards season's close, according to Gazzayev.
Former CSKA coach Valery Gazzaev assessed Spartak's performance as the season drew to a close, highlighting a promising spell in November and December under Dejan Stankovic's guidance, where the team won six consecutive games and appeared to be title contenders. However, Gazzaev argued that a series of mistakes at both the club level and within the coaching staff during the winter impacted the team's performance.
In an interview with "SE," Gazzaev expressed his opinion that the club's significant investments in strikers Livaja Garcia and Solari did not yield the expected results. He noted that the newcomers failed to significantly strengthen the team or influence the outcome of games.
Moreover, Gazzaev focused on the constant rotation of the lineup, specifically the replacement of attacking leader Manfred Ugalde. Ugalde had scored 15 goals before the winter break but netted only twice in the spring, a shift that Gazzaev believed eroded player confidence.
Despite the team's decline and finishing fourth in the RPL, Spartak's management decided to retain Stankovic and offer him a new contract. However, Gazzaev predicted that next season, the coach would need to deliver more consistent results due to minimal tolerance for mistakes, as even a second-place finish could be viewed as a failure. In the end, Spartak lost to Rostov in the Russian Regions Cup final (1:2).
In related news, Bystrov criticized Gлушенkov, calling him absent and yet dissatisfied; Tashuyev left the post of Ahmat head coach after losing to Ural; and Gazzaev praised Krasnodar's success and Galitsky for becoming champions without winter transfers.
In the interview with "SE", Gazzaev suggested that the additions of strikers Livaja Garcia and Solari, despite being significant investments, did not have a substantial impact on Spartak's performance during the European-leagues and premier-league games. Additionally, Gazzaev stated that the constant changes in the lineup, particularly the replacement of Manfred Ugalde, who was a key attacking player, might have contributed to the diminished confidence and subpar results for the team, even in bookmakers' predictions.
