The decisive week

Within the upcoming seven days Lech will play three matches which will decide about the championship of Poland. Physical preparations will play a crucial part in the games, however mentality is no less important.

Three matches are left until the end of the season. On Sunday Lech Poznan will face Pogon Szczecin at INEA Stadium. Three days later the team from Poznan will travel to Zabrze to play against Gornik. On June 7th Wisla Cracow will visit Poznan to face Lech in the last league match of the season. Physical preparation is the key ahead of the 270 minutes that Lech's players will spend on the pitch fighting for the trophy. However, as the recent match with Lechia Gdansk had shown, there is nothing to worry about when it comes to the players' physical condition.

"The team is rightly prepared in the physical aspect. It's not the first time this season that we are to play a match every three days, and therefore we have been prepared for that all long. The planning of the training cycles for the crucial phase of the season has already begun in winter," said Andrzej Kasprzak, the physical preparation coach. "The key element will be recovery. In reality, immediately after each match the players have to prepare for the upcoming game."

No player can afford a moment of relaxation, and therefore those players that have played less have to make up for the work done by their teammates. "If a player spends 45 minutes on the pitch, after the game he undergoes the process of regeneration. That's when he uses cryotherapy or any other treatment which helps the recovery. During that period the rest of the players goes to the compensatory session so that the whole team can work together on the next day," explained coach Kasprzak.

In this decisive phase of the season the mental preparation of the players is no less important. The training staff do all they can to diminish the pressure that only grows with each match. "At this stage each game is priceless. That is why the pressure keep on growing, and when there is pressure, mistakes follow. But each team makes mistakes. The fact that we are the leaders of the league only sets the bar higher. Therefore, we are working with the players on their mentality so that they can withhold it all," highlighted coach Skorza. "The current season has been full of new experiences that many of my players have never been through before. The fight for the championship is full of tension and each match has an inconceivable value. The pressure is immense, but those people have to live it through in order to be able to deal with it effectively. These experiences are priceless and they will have a positive effect in the future."

Many players emphasize that each match is to be treated like the final. The leader of the team from Poznan agreed with the words of his men. "We have to prepare meticulously for each game. Lech has to be focused and mobilized till the last minute of the match against Wisla Cracow. If we lose concentration for a single moment, it can turn to be the lethal blow," said coach Skorza.