Boris Kopeikin lamented CSKA Moscow’s poor Russian Premier League form and tipped them to finish the season as runners-up.
The former SKA Khabarovsk player, Boris Kopeikin, has admitted that Zenit St. Petersburg are the favourites to retain the Russian Premier League title this season and urged CSKA Moscow to reclaim the second-spot.
Kopeikin revealed that the Meshki deserve to retain the league title after putting in some fantastic performances. He hailed Andrei Arshavin's loan transfer from Arsenal, admitting that the 30-year-old Russian striker has
lifted their game.
Though Zenit were 7 points behind the Armeytsy during the second league round, they leapfrogged CSKA after claiming back to back wins during the third league round.
CSKA, on the other hand, had a nightmare start to the third league round, having claimed a measly 7 points in 7 outings. The Red-blues are yet to win a league tie since their 2-1 win against Spartak Moscow back in March.
Furthermore, the Koni missed a decent chance to close down the gap from the top after suffering a 2-0 defeat against Zenit at Petrovsky stadium. Kopeikin blamed Leonid Slutsky behind the Koni’s poor run in form and accused
the Russian tactician for being responsible for every dropped point.
As things stand, the Moscow-based club are at the fourth spot and trail the table-toppers by a massive 14 points. Reports in Russia suggest that CSKA are set to sack their manager if he fails to secure a second-spot finish.
Kopeikin told the fans that the Moscow-based club are struggling in the Russian top division because they lack self confidence. However, he requested them to back their manager at the hour of need.
“Zenit were not playing at full strength before the winter break. CSKA looked decent at that time. But the situation is different now.
They have made certain changes in the team. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Seydou-Doumbia-c33175 and Tomas Necid are not playing to their potential.” The former FC Presnya Moscow manager was quoted as saying.
Kopeikin revealed that Slutsky needs to learn from Alania Vladikavkaz manager, Valery Gazzaev, known for helping the Russian outfit win their first ever UEFA Cup.
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