PZPN

Your heart must fill with joy when at every turn you see fans rooting for the Poland national football team. The national team is fully back in fashion. This is a great support before EURO 2016.

It is clear that we regained the fans' trust and that this national team really gives them a lot of joy. When we were on a training camp in Arłamów, the support was visible at every turn. It is wonderful that the fans enjoy every contact with us, picture, autograph, or the fact that they can watch us train. This is why we play football – to bring joy to the people who cheer for us and are with us whole-heartedly. This gives us enormous satisfaction and we fulfil our own ambitions as well.

Under your leadership the Poland national team has become a true team.

The team is constantly progressing. I think here of how the team was two years ago, when I began working with it, and the current situation. Progress can be seen in every element, in terms of organization, tactics as well as in the players' mental attitude. The players form a team whose performance is nearly exemplary, both on and off the field. This atmosphere is very important. When we win, everything works great. But we must remember that football is a game of errors and one cannot always expect everything to work great. One must be prepared for those difficult moments as well. Understanding and self-respect are essential. This makes the team stronger as far as the ability to react appropriately in difficult situations is concerned. We always try to minimise the risk of error, but we are also prepared for any situation.

The atmosphere in the national team is indeed exemplary. Robert Lewandowski wanted to give up his rest and come to the training camp more quickly. Players, who was not in Jurata, kept watching movies from the camp on the "Łączy nas piłka" channel. Nobody wanted to miss anything. Everyone's heart is in the national team.

One can only rejoice at the fact that the players are happy to come to the training camps and enjoy them immensely. I cannot imagine it being otherwise anyway, as representing the national colours is an honour and a privilege. The players are greatly aware of that. Victories as well as everyday relations between the players, build the team's spirit; they give self-confidence.

Are you satisfied with how the preparations for the EURO went? Were you able to meet all your goals? It seems that every detail was taken care of, as you have even invited Szymon Marciniak to the training camp in Arłamów to tell you about the latest referee news which will be effective in France.

Details are exceptionally important, they help, hence we also thought of such a meeting. We tried not to neglect anything. Preparations were carefully planned. They began practically after the final whistle of the EURO 2016 qualifying match against Ireland at the National Stadium in Warsaw, when our qualification to the tournament in France was assured. From the start we knew what we care about and what we would like to achieve as far as location of the resorts, sports facilities and the entire infrastructure, both in Poland and in France, are concerned. We had many offers of training camps; we tried to choose optimally and in accordance with our plan. We quickly performed reconnaissance and we knew where we wanted to prepare for EURO 2016. I hope that the places we chose were apt. We had excellent working conditions, both during the first training camp, so called regeneration, in Jurata, as well as during the proper camp in Arłamów. The owners of these resorts, their management and all the people who took care of us should be greatly applauded, as they have done an excellent job. I am also satisfied as far as training is concerned. We have fulfilled our training plan practically one hundred percent. We payed attention to elements of motor skills training, every player worked individually on this. During every training camp we perfected set pieces. This was our strong point during the qualifying tournament and we would like to keep it up. In Arłamów, we also devoted a lot of time to the issue of how the team is organized during play, both in attack and in defence. I believe that we are prepared to EURO 2016 in every respect.

What does the EURO mean to you?

It is an absolutely exceptional tournament which draws the attention of the whole of EUROpe. My first memories related to EURO date back to the time when I was a football player myself. We lost the qualification to EURO 1980 by virtually a single goal. We were playing in Amsterdam against the Netherlands and we were leading 1:0. Had we won, we would have gone to the EURO for the first time in history. However, in the second half we lost a goal and the match ultimately ended in a draw, thus we lost our chance to qualify. I was already a coach when I participated in my next championship – EURO 2008 qualifying competition and the tournament itself in Austria and Switzerland, when I was Leo Beenhakker's assistant. This was certainly an interesting period for me as a coach. This culmination of experiences is later very important in every coach's work.

All the players speak with one voice – the minimum goal during EURO 2016 is to advance beyond the group stage. What goal did you set for the team? When will you be satisfied?

For me as a coach what is the nearest matters. The first step was to prepare the team for the tournament and we have realized our plan. It is well-known that the first match is a critical factor for further competition. At the moment we concentrate solely on the match against Northern Ireland. I do not want to talk about goals, everyone has their dreams. But we must keep our feet firmly on the ground. We are in a tough group, but we believe in our abilities. The team is exceptionally strong as far as attitude and awareness are concerned, but that will have to be confirmed on the pitch. The field always verifies our plans and dreams. I am certain that the players will do anything they can to achieve the best possible result during the championship.

Interviewed by Paweł Drażba