Stav Lemkin joined Maccabi on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk as the 21-year-old defender who made his 7th appearance for the club during the 3-1 victory over Besiktas faced the media on Sunday night,
“As soon as I arrived here I was welcomed with open arms and I settled in really quickly” Lemkin who played in various positions across the back, said. “I am delighted to be here. I will do everything the coach asks me to do.”
On the competitions for places, he added: “This is a massive club and the competition here is not just for a place in the starting line-up but also for places on the bench. Sometimes you can start and sometimes find yourself out of the squad. But this is natural as there are some amazing players here.”
Lemkin who featured as a right back during the Europa league victory over Turkish side Besiktas on Thursday said: “The victory gave us all a very good feeling, the league victory over Sakhnin before the international break did the same thing as now we are looking forward to the league. We have several important fixtures ahead of us starting with Bnei Reineh and we would really like to come and win it.”
On his decision to join Maccabi despite facing strong competition for places from fellow defenders Nemanja Stojic, Raz Shlomo, Idan Nachmias and Tyrese Asante, Lemkin said: “I believe in my ability and never looked at home many players can play in my position. I was given the feeling that people here count on me and I am rated. I think I am capable of doing nice things here which is what I wanted – fighting for my place and challenging for trophies. This was part of my aim.”
Ahead of Monday opponent, Bnei Reineh, Lemkin added: “They are a tough team that made life difficult both for Maccabi Haifa (2-2) and Hapoel Be’ersheva (1-1). Their position in the table reflects on their ability but we will come prepared. The match against Besiktas is behind us as all we have in mind now is the league match against Reineh”.
