Igor Jovićević has admitted his Shakhtar Donetsk players already had one eye on Wednesday's Champions League showdown with Celtic. Shakhtar picked up all three points thanks to a stoppage time winner from Oleg Ocheretko to go top of the Ukrainian Premier League. However they were far from at their best against Chornomorets - who are yet to win this season.
They were off the back of a surprise 4-1 rout of RB Leipzig in midweek and Jovićević reckons many of his squad had their head turned towards their next European clash when they face Ange Postecoglou 's men in Warsaw. He said: "These are completely different emotions. Great opponent with great players and team actions. Today we already switched to Celtic.
"Players want to specifically play a full match and immerse themselves deeply. I forbade the footballers to think about Celtic, but, you know, they are young lads, we are a young team, and not on purpose, but somewhere in the subconscious, they think about the fact that in four days there is a match in the Champions League. And maybe somewhere they shared the concentration for today's game.
"I can't blame them for anything - this is a normal process. And we have to teach them, when we build a team, that after the Champions League and a burst of energy, it is necessary to be able to play at the same high level in the championship.
"Ukrainian Premier League is the basis of our process, because it is a marathon, stability, emotional balance. And I ask the team to always play regularly and consistently. Then we can say that we have a team."
Jovićević proceeded to give credit to their opponents Chornomorets who made it a difficult afternoon for the Donetsk side by taking a ninth minute lead and they weren't begged back until the final 15 minutes when Shakhtar threw everything at it. And he insists they will be preparing to face the Scottish Premiership champions with complete concentration.
He added: "Chernomorets came out very charged: their aggressive attitude to the match was visible, and they outplayed us in terms of emotions, let's say so. Atypical football: one-on-one all over the field - very few teams practice this. So we made some corrections at halftime.
"However, if Ivan Petryak scored a goal from the first moment, then these matches would be won by an even greater score. I'm sure it would, because it gives the confidence and emotion needed for the result.
"I must mention the good team of Chornomorets and good coach. And today, the truly collective character of the Donetsk players helped us win a very, very difficult match. These are important three points for us. For now, we can recover a little and prepare for the game with Celtic with complete concentration."
Asked if the fighting sprit shown will help ahead of the clash with Celtic, midfielder Bohdan Mykhailichenko said: "The match was difficult, but it always happens after the Champions League. It was great that we came back at the end of the game and took the three points."
