Bohdan Boyko: "Our goal is to bring back the glory of Ukrainian football to Kharkiv"

Head of the supervisory board of "Metalist 1925" Bohdan Boyko before sending the team to the training camp in Austria talked about his emotions after returning to the UPL, goals for the new season, and the changes expected at the club:

- Bohdan Volodymyrovych, it has been over three weeks since "Metalist 1925" returned to the UPL. Have the emotions subsided already? 

 - Of course, they have subsided. We celebrated for exactly one day because it's not really time to be in a long-term festive mood. We immediately started preparing for the new season and continue to do so. 

- What is the current state of affairs at the club? Within the team? Share your plans with us? 

- The team is already working actively, as you have seen, under the guidance of the new coach Mladen Bartulovich. The upcoming plans include training in Austria and completing the team. We were preparing for the UPL since winter when we made several transfers. This summer, we are also not sitting idle; we want to look decent at the level of Premier League teams. 

- What are your expectations from the team in the new season in the Premier League?  

- We have two tasks for this season. The first and main one is strategic: to build the club as a serious football project. Our goal is to bring back to Kharkiv the grandeur of Ukrainian football. 

We approach the process very sincerely and deeply, as we have stated before. We are shaping both the team's playing philosophy and the club's development strategy. I am confident that without fundamental things like strategy, concept, mission, we will not build a great competitive football project. 

Therefore, just as we work on the transfer market, we also dedicate a lot of time to creating our philosophy so that every player and club manager understands where they are, why, and what goal they are striving for. 

- Regarding specific goals you set for the coaching staff? 

- This is our second, more specific task — to establish ourselves in the top half of the league table and demonstrate a worthy, interesting football style that we will not be ashamed of in front of the fans or ourselves. 

- Besides the first team, the club has a women's team, a youth team, an academy. How are things going there? 

- We are working in all directions. We have implemented a good transfer policy in the women's team and will play in the Champions League, forming a new U19 team, reached the finals in three age groups of the academy: the U14 team became champions, while U16 and U17 won bronze medals. 

Don't forget about the club, where we are also changing and will continue to do so. This includes scouting, marketing, commerce, and many other operational processes that we want to build modernly and qualitatively. Therefore, there is a lot of work, and the