Jop: For me it is a great distinction and honor.

Coach Mariusz Jop met with journalists ahead of the cup clash with Stal Rzeszów. The Round of 16 match against the White Star kicks off on Thursday, December 7th at 6:00 PM.

The cup match will be missing:
- Michał Żyro - who is rehabilitating his knee after surgery;
- Igor Sapała - who has a biceps injury;
- Davida Junci - trains individually after an ankle injury;
- Jakub Krzyżanowski - on Tuesday he returned to training after suffering from gastric problems related to his trip to the World Championships;
- Eneko Satrústegui - is recovering from a biceps injury after a league match;
- Mikołaj Biegański - reported stomach problems.

"It's obvious that these situations evoke a lot of emotions – different ones for different players. I think it's never the case that everyone is 100% behind the coach, and it's never the case that everyone is against the coach. It's a normal situation that for some it's an opportunity, but for the vast majority it's difficult, because I think many appreciated the work of this staff that was here for a long time," he began. When asked if coach Jop had the opportunity to talk to his former coach, he replied: "Maybe there weren't many such discussions after the coach resigned. Radek and Bogdan Zając were supposed to say goodbye to the team on Monday, and that was also a good time to talk for a while. However, I wouldn't like to go into details about that conversation."

Taking over the first team as interim coach could be an opportunity for Mariusz Jop to prove himself. Was that the case? "For me, it's a great distinction and honor to be the first-team coach at this time. Besides being a player and having coached the reserves for some time, I'm also a fan of this team, and as I said, it's above all a great honor for me. Is it an opportunity to show what I can do? I'll definitely want to make some minor adjustments to our game, but there's not much time to make any revolutions," he said. What aspects of the team's play can be improved in such a short time? "We can give some insight into the attacking set piece. We can certainly add some nuances to both the build-up and the defensive play. Without disrupting the entire system, but adding a few nuances that might make the players more effective in the game," he continued.

Did the coach need a lot of time to make a decision? "It was a quick decision. I could have expected such an offer from Jarek Królewski, and basically after the phone call, that was the moment I agreed. My perception of this situation is that it is a great honor. It is a great thing to work at Wisła Kraków. Especially in the first team," he noted. "I might talk about the next match. I don't want to give too much away, but I'm definitely not a fan of direct play or simple solutions. I prefer combination play. I prefer a lot of aggression when it comes to defensive play. I'll definitely try to instill that in the team, but we'll probably see tomorrow whether it works out 100%. We'll have to verify that," he added.

Journalists were curious whether Kamil Broda and Angel Rodado, suspended due to a yellow card in Sunday's league match, would be on the pitch from the first minutes: "I can reveal that both players will be starting. I don't want to say more about the lineup. There may be changes, major or minor, but I don't want to make things easier for the opponent. As for Kamil, we're still in the cup match. We'll see what the situation is like after that."

In what mental state did the coach take over the White Star team? "I can judge this by what I see in training. And from my perspective, the team is hungry to redeem themselves for this last match. Each player will probably find their own motivation. One will want to play for coach Sobolewski. Another will want to play for themselves, another maybe because they're expecting an offer. Another maybe because they haven't played much and want to prove they deserved this spot. Motivation varies among players, but I see it's there. And it's at a high level, which is probably the most important thing right now," he noted.

Mariusz Jop's team has two league matches and one Polish Cup match ahead of them. Does the coach use any sort of gradation in the competition? "No, I approach it this way: every upcoming match is the most important. The next one is the cup match. I don't think that something is less important or more important. I don't think that we can afford any changes that are theoretically detrimental to the team. No, the next match is the most important," he replied. "I think playing at home should be—and I hope it will be—our advantage. We know how powerful the fans are. We know how much influence they can have on the players, and that influence can vary. I'd really like the stands to carry the players in the right direction, and I realize that this also requires a push from the team. We'll certainly want to provide that push so that the fans can help us maintain this good quality later on," he said.

Could any of the young reserve players join the first team? "I think it's important to remember that there was constant collaboration. Whether I was in this position or as the reserve team's head coach, players from the second team often trained with the first team – two, three, sometimes more, sometimes fewer. It also depended on the situation in the first team. And it was similar this week. Three players trained with us, so things haven't changed," he said.

Coach Mariusz Jop faces three tests. When asked if he expects to receive a permanent offer if his results are favorable, he replied: "I don't look that far ahead. In football, you're only as good as your last game. I'm focused on what's going to happen tomorrow. Then I'll focus on what's going to happen next Sunday, and so on. It takes a lot of humility, patience, and above all, focusing on the present, not what will happen in two or three weeks."

Stal Rzeszów is a familiar opponent for Wisła. What kind of match does the club expect against R22? "I'll point out right away that teams often play a little differently against Wisła than usual. Stal is a team that's quite different, they've improved a lot compared to what we saw at the beginning of the season. They're definitely a team that wants to play football, build from the back. They're aggressive when it comes to defending. They're a young team. They have a bit of flair in terms of their youth. I expect an open match and an entertaining one for the fans," he noted.