Football Season Guide

Fakel had a challenging campaign as newcomers last season and had long and frustrating stretches without winning any games. But they were always feisty and hard to beat and their endurance and determination paid off in the final weeks of the season as a run of four wins in the final six games gave them real momentum and they beat Yenisey handily in the play-offs to secure safety. The survival ensured that the risky move to change a manager with just a handful of games left paid off, with Vadim Evseev giving the team an immediate boost as an experienced and practical coach. He will look to make this team more streetwise and ensure that none of these long droughts without a win repeat this season. Yet the Voronezh side will once again remain among the ones who have least possession in games and focus mostly on defending and staying as compact as possible. The squad has not really been upgraded with additions that make them more technically proficient and instead focusing on tried and battle-hardened players like Fedor Kudryashov and Aleksandr Belenov suggests that Fakel will prioritise getting the results they need above anything. There have been some important departures in the squad too as the main midfield creator in Roman Akbashev is off to Rostov while loanees Evgeni Morozov and Ilya Svinov will be tough to replace too. George Gongadze was a big presence up front too but is leaving on a free transfer. Thus this Fakel side seems primed for another grinding battle for survival in which excitement will be in short supply and nerves will be frayed, but Evseev knows how to play this game and will be confident of getting the better of the rivals.