Coach Riha vows to stay at SKA despite exit rumours

SKA St. Petersburg head coach dismissed rumours of his exit from the KHL club after defeat to OHK Dynamo in the Gagarin Cup semi-final series.

«Would you like to continue coaching SKA?»

«Why shouldn’t I? What have I done? Did I kill St. Pete? Yes, we lost the series 4-0, yes, that is an awful record, but I can’t say that I had done something I shouldn’t have. Even if everyone wants me to leave, the final decision is down to the management. I am not the sort of man to walk away from his team, but if that’s what the board wants, I will go.»

«The board meeting is on Monday. Are you expecting a decision, or you don’t care?»

«Of course I care. I am analysing the season right now, trying to see where things went wrong. I will discuss these things with the board members, what we have achieved and where we could improve, and then they can decide. After that, we can get back to our jobs. Of course, if everything is already settled, there is nothing I can do about it (smiles). A lot of specialists have left SKA in the past, including Barry Smith, Ivan Zanatta, Vaclav Sykora, but none of them had to endure the amount of criticism that I have,» the Czech coach told R-Sport.