TIMUR PRE ZAGREB

Timur Tutierov spoke to the press ahead of Sunderland's next Europa League fixture and spoke really well about his time at the club, breaking into the first team and how he feels at home here after leaving Ukraine during the war.

AHEAD OF SCHEDULE

“I would probably have not expected it yet, but my dream was to do that. I had, and do have, belief that I can play at Premier League level. Obviously it has happened earlier than I expected and I was so excited about that, so happy. Not just for me, but my family and friends.”

OUR LUCK WILL CHANGE

“Obviously we have a mentality and our mentality doesn’t change, we play to win. We have had some unfortunate results which is disappointing for us but I think it happens sometimes when you have this streak of unfortunate results. We have to work hard and get better at this because we can show good football and some of the games just prove that. A bit of luck and a bit of hard work and I think it will work out.”

STRIKER VS WINGER

“It was actually more often in my career that I played either striker or winger. I think my adaptation was quite good because I am around great players, who advise me. It is easier to play with them and get integrated into the team. I think that was the key for me to switch very quickly from winger to striker. But I can still play winger if needed!”

THE JOURNEY SO FAR

“My belief was that it would happen, every time, but it has changed from the Championship to the Premier League. But the journey was hard because I came across lots of injuries during this period and they were different injuries, which stopped me from getting my goal at the time. I started playing, I got injured, started playing again and I got injured. It delayed it. In terms of the whole journey and why I always had this belief, was because of the people around here. The coaching staff who had been with me in the Academy and supported me every time, they helped me to learn here. Sometimes my behaviour wasn’t great at times but they understand and they keep pushing me. I think they are key for this success, if we can call it that. I wouldn’t say I am badly emotional but you know when you are young and you demand a lot, then you get injured you start getting emotional. They helped me with that, to work towards the goal and not get distracted.”

ZAGREB ON THURSDAY

“I know from my personal memory that Dinamo was in a European competition every time. For me they are a good team, always fighting for the title in their league too. We are expecting a good game and our preparation is proper preparation for this team. They are a good team and I think it’ll be a good game.”

FELLOW STRIKERS

“There are some things to learn from Brian, Wilson and everyone. But for me it is very important to keep my identity because I am different to Brian. I cannot take the defender and chuck them away! That is why I need to see if there are certain skills or behaviours from Brian that I can learn and use in my game. In terms of that, Brian’s positioning is great and you can learn a lot from it. From Wilson I think we have more similarities in terms of running in behind, I learn a lot from his timing and things like that. There’s a lot of things to learn but for me the main thing is to keep my identity as a player.”

DRESSING ROOM REACTION

“We all know what we have to do. Obviously they are disappointing results and it didn’t start how we expected, but there are so many games to play. I do believe we will bounce back because the attitude we show in training and the games we’ve played show us that we can. I hope that is going to happen soon.”

MEN'S FOOTBALL

“Senior football is very different to Academy football in terms of, you have things to achieve. Last season I was relegated with Exeter, we were fighting to stay in the league. This experience gave me a lot because that’s a different environment because you have to give your all in every training session. There is no training session where you think ‘okay, we can run around and do things that we want to do’. There were just things you simply had to do. For me, that is the difference between youth football and adult football.”

MENTALITY

“My mentality doesn’t change. I think I’m the exact same person but I’ve just become wiser with this experience. When I played in the under-21s we had lots of conversations with the coaches about how I could switch straight away and play men’s football. It was kind of like this at Exeter, but I came into their team when they had good momentum and were winning, and then things started changing. That was a realisation that I had to do certain things to be in the squad every time.”

SUNDERLAND

“It means a lot, it is my home. Because of the war in Ukraine at the moment I left, and I am here right now and have my own house. I had a host parent when I first came, she is like my English Mam and I love her so much. The environment built around me has just made me feel that Sunderland is my home where I can be and where I can feel safe.”

COACHING STAFF

“They mean a lot. Graeme Murts is one of the biggest parts of my success because the knowledge he gave me for footballing IQ is a lot. I appreciate him a lot. Going back to my behaviour, he helped me stick to my goal. Matt (Craddock) is also a great coach, unfortunately I don’t work with him as much, but from what I know it’s been a pleasure to work with him.”

HEAVY SCHEDULE

“I love playing football so much! If it was possible I’d like to play even more often. But on the physical side it is hard because you have to perform 100% every game and recovery takes longer because you cannot get back to 100% every two days. It is hard to produce the same energy every game. But I think it’s also about adaptation because we have never faced this schedule before, it is something new. I think the minute we adapt there it will be all good.”

UKRAINE SITUATION

“I moved here a year after the war started. Me and my family left and we lived a little bit in Spain, then football started being played in Ukraine again so I went back. I played for half a season and then I arrived in Sunderland. In terms of the war, it is not a nice experience to leave a war-torn country. I feel sorry for all Ukrainians over there because I have been there. It is so hard when you don’t have lights, you don’t have water, sometimes there’s no food in the supermarket because of the logistical problems. I appreciate in Sunderland that I am here and I feel sorry for all Ukrainians. My parents are in Ukraine and some of my friends are in Europe. But like I mentioned, when there are no lights, no phone connection, it is hard to talk.”