Mariusz Jop before #WISWPŁ: It's fantastic to play in front of an almost full stadium

Before Friday's match against Wisła Płock, White Star coach Mariusz Jop answered journalists' questions during the press conference before the match.

Wisła Kraków hosts Wisła Płock on Friday. Does this matchup between two top-tier teams have a favorite? "I think the interpretation is open to anyone. Playing at home, we're probably considered the favorites in this match. But, as I said, anyone can interpret it any way they want." - he began.

In your opinion, is it better to mentally prepare players after winning matches, or after one like the one in Nieciecza, when you had a slip-up and lost two points? "I don't see it as a setback. I think it depends on the opponent. If it's high, if the opponent is a team that scores very well in the spring, almost averaging two points, then I think the coaching staff needs to do less work in terms of motivation. Definitely, much more work needs to be done against opponents at the bottom of the table." - he said.

Again, it's a matter of mentality and attitude. Is that something you're working on now that the end of the season is approaching? "It's one of the elements. Of course, we're only focusing on the next match at this point. However, matches unfold differently. Sometimes a random situation decides whether you score or not, or a good set piece executed correctly. There are key moments in matches that bring you closer to victory or further ahead. I think that regardless of who you're playing, looking at the match script, such moments occur in every match. You have a certain psychological advantage." - he replied.

In the fall, you defeated Wisła Płock 3-1. Are you expecting a similar match to the away match? "I think the match in Płock is irrelevant from my perspective at this point. It was quite a while ago. I remember that when they were playing at home, they tried to throw us off our rhythm. They basically didn't open up with short passes from goal; they looked for a lot of direct play. I don't think that will change. This is a team that obviously has its strengths when it comes to attacking, but I think they will also try to throw us off our rhythm, reduce the intensity a bit, and drag out old passages. That's my opinion. However, we are also ready for other scenarios. There are different phases of the match. Sometimes you have to defend low, sometimes you have to play a positional attack, or a quick attack. These are situations that repeat themselves. We are most often in a positional attack. I think it will be similar in this match."

You watched your closest rival's last match from the stands in Płock. How do you assess the players' form, and could the fact that Wisła Płock played on Monday and now on Friday have any bearing on it? "I think that with that time apart, if it's a Monday or Friday match, there's enough time to fully recover, so I'm not giving us any kind of handicap here. Of course, there might be a little less time to retrain in certain areas, because in such a short microcycle, there are two recovery days. On the third, which is already minus two days before the match, there's not much you can do there either, plus the travel, so these are things they probably considered and did to optimally prepare. However, as I said, I don't think it had any significant impact. I focused on Wisła Płock's behavior and performance, how they attacked, how they defended, what their game structure was—I focused more on that. I think that was the goal of this trip, not being inspired by the opponent."

So how do you describe the rival team? "I'll briefly answer how Płock plays, but we also need to be aware that the opponent sometimes changes their game. It's definitely there, you can see a lot of positional interchangeability when it comes to attacking. The main structure is a 5-3-2, or in a 3-5-2 attacking with two strikers, they build through three center-backs, sometimes with one six, sometimes with two sixes. There's a lot of rotation there. When it comes to defending, sometimes it's four players who press, if they're losing, sometimes a fifth and sometimes a sixth join in. They try to approach the opponent's 3-2 build-up one-on-one, because they've often built with them. I'm talking about three defenders plus two central midfielders. So it changes depending on what Płock wants to achieve, whether they want to give, as I said, more people by exposing themselves a bit, sometimes leaving four defenders one-on-one. So there are different moments depending on the score, depending on the minute of the match. So yeah. In short, that's what it looked like. The dangerous players at set pieces are definitely waiting for it too."

What's Mariusz Kutwa's fitness status? We saw him from the start in the last reserve match, but the young defender left the field prematurely. So is he ready to play on Friday? "I think Mariusz showed maturity here. Even though he felt a little uncomfortable, he came off early, didn't take any risks, and was able to train normally with the team from Monday. So he's with us and is considered for the match." - he assessed.

It cannot be denied that Wisła Płock scores much worse in away matches. "Yes, they play worse away from home. In short." - he emphasized.

Over 26,000 fans will be in attendance at the stadium near R22 during Friday's match. Will this be an additional factor that will influence the players? "I think it's fantastic to play in front of a nearly full stadium. We've had several matches like that here. It's something that definitely gives the players extra motivation. It allows them to show their potential. If the fans support us, it's definitely a little easier for the players. We're definitely counting on the fans' support. We're very happy that so many tickets have already been sold. We're also counting on their support," he said.

It's the end of the season. Are you analyzing the results of other teams at the top of the table? "I always say that, of course, it matters. But it matters when we win. Because if we don't score points, these results are less important to us, in my opinion. We see that the stakes are quite high among teams fighting for direct promotion and the play-offs. Teams practically drop very few points. I'm referring to the top eight teams. So, on the one hand, it's good, because the matches between these direct rivals are very close, and any result can happen. However, if we look at the last round, we see that the teams at the bottom, whom we recently played and won, can also snatch points from the teams at the top. So this league is difficult. This league is sometimes unpredictable when it comes to results, but that's good because it makes it more interesting," he added.

Let's go back for a moment to Wisła's last match - the away game in Nieciecza, where Patryk Letkiewicz made a mistake between the posts and, as a result, Termalica took the lead. How is the goalkeeper's mental preparation? "I think each case is a little different. I think it's something that occurs with young players in such a responsible position as Patryk. These mistakes are very visible and painful in their consequences. However, in this case, it was simply a technical error, an inaccurate pass, because in terms of the decision, it wasn't bad because the player was moving for the ball, a matter of an accurate pass. So Patryk helped the team many times, but he also had his share of slip-ups. It's important that he finds that balance and confidence as quickly as possible, and that he is the player who ultimately helps the team." - he said.

Continuing on the subject of the match against Termalica, you mentioned President Wisłocki's behavior during the post-match press conference. Just last time, you commented on the poor condition of the pitch in Opole. Have there been so many such incidents in recent weeks that the coach decided to speak out? "I think that's it, because in many meetings we struggle with various kinds of problems, and sometimes it's good when the public knows about it, because there are certain issues that are not shown and are not talked about. That's the main reason." - he concluded.