Sergiy, you have tried English football once. What made you want to give it another try?

English football is all about passion and commitment which is why so many people around the world love it and it was one of the reasons I wanted to come back and play here so much.

Playing against England should be interesting. I’m certainly looking forward to it.

You enjoyed a fantastic partnership with Andriy Shevchenko when you were both at Dynamo Kyiv and also for Ukraine. Should England be worried?

I’d love to say we could play together the way we played before, but I don’t think it’s realistic.

Playing together at Dynamo definitely benefited the national team, but then again most of the team came from there! Recently at club level and for the national team I’ve tended to play on the right of midfield and not up front, and Andriy has played up front alongside several other players.

Ukraine have slipped to 85 in the world rankings, a drop of 38 places in nine months. What’s gone wrong?

In recent years it seems we’ve just been lacking that little bit of something extra. Sometimes we’ve just been unlucky. Against France in June we didn’t play badly and we conceded a goal in the dying minutes to lose.

But Ukraine almost qualified ahead of Greece for Euro 2004 who went on to win the competition. How close did your team get to playing in Portugal?

We beat Greece 2-0 at home and should have got a result away. We had several very good chances, and then conceded the winner in the last five minutes. I think Greece were very fortunate in that several of their opponents in Portugal underestimated them. But they are a world-class team. They played from defence, were very disciplined, and utilised their counter-attacks well - beating teams like that is always very difficult.

Is there enough new talent coming through in Ukrainian football?

Unfortunately in the domestic championship there is no limit on the number of foreigners. Sometimes the top two teams Dynamo and Shakhtar have only a couple of Ukrainians on the pitch, and there’s no doubt that the national team is suffering as a result. The only team bringing through Ukrainian players at the moment are Dnipro, who finished third last season and who are starting to challenge the big two. The bottom line is that players need to be given experience at club level if they are to stand a chance of making the grade at international level.

How long will it take for Ukraine to turn things around?

It’s hard to see things changing for the better immediately. The Under-19s finished third in the European Championship, so in the longer term maybe there is potential. Of course we will all be doing our best to turn the results round. But without an influx of new players coming through and gaining the right amount of experience, it will be difficult.

The Ukrainian Football Federation appointed former European Footballer of the Year and USSR’s record goalscorer Oleg Blokhin as coach 11 months ago. How well do you think he is doing?

Blokhin himself is saying that because of the number of foreigners in the league, building a strong national team is extremely difficult. He is doing his best to blood young players and is experimenting with his line-up. But already there has been pressure from the media and the fans who don’t seem to understand that things can’t change overnight. Changing the coach every six months isn’t going to make things better. He needs time. Blokhin is a good specialist – there was no-one better qualified to take the job. And he is placing emphasis on youth – that’s a good thing.

How much does playing for your country mean to you?

It’s important for me to be playing for the national team, though I’m not guaranteed a starting place. The fact that I’m back playing at a club where I feel part of things, after my recent experiences, will hopefully reflect in my performances for the national team. For me confidence, and knowing that you have a good relationship with your coach, is extremely important.

Ukraine have been drawn against Greece again as well as the likes of Turkey and Denmark in the qualifying group for the next World Cup. How do you rate your chances of playing in Germany?

We’ll be trying to qualify for the World Cup in 2006, but again we’re in a very tough group. There are three or four teams, I’d say, with equal chance of making it through. So it would be foolish to say that we’re definitely going to do it. But I do think that for the youngsters coming through, games against opposition such as France and England will provide them with a steep learning curve. They will be gaining a lot of experience and this can only stand them, and the team, in good stead.