The head coach of the Armenian national team, John van 't Schip, held a press conference in Tbilisi ahead of the return match against Georgia.
"I want to clarify the situation with one of the Armenian national team players. Grant-Leon Ranos has left the team's camp. He spoke to me and gave me an ultimatum: either he starts in the lineup, or he leaves. Never in my coaching career have I encountered something like this. Deciding whether a player is in the starting eleven is the coach's prerogative, not the player's. At the moment, he has played only a few minutes in the Second Bundesliga. That’s why I decided that he would not start in the upcoming match," said the head coach of the Armenian national team.
"I explained to him that he is still young and will get his chance. Moreover, I had plans for him in tomorrow’s match. But he didn’t want to listen and insisted on starting in the lineup," added John van 't Schip.
Regarding the tactical setup, the Dutch specialist said the following:
"Playing in a 4-3-3 or 5-3-2 formation is not an end in itself; we must consider the opponent's strength. In the home game against Georgia, we used a midfielder who had been consistently playing. It’s always necessary to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the opponent and choose the tactics accordingly."
"We knew that the Georgian national team is very strong, but as you saw, there were a lot of individual mistakes. Talking about ‘consequences’ is too much; our task is to find team balance and prepare as best as possible for the upcoming match."
"We need to look for new players not only for the goalkeeper position but also for other positions, as well as ensure the development of the players we already have. I think during the June training camp, we will try to consider more candidates."
"We are closely monitoring not only Narek Grigoryan but all players during training camps. Narek is a very interesting player—he can play both on the right wing and as an attacking midfielder. He has special qualities, and as I have already said, in the upcoming matches, we will try to give opportunities to as many young players as possible."
"I fully understand that this is part of the job. In Greece, I encountered a similar situation where results were the key factor. I think you can also see that this team needs time to progress. If we look back at my experience in Greece, we can see that the core of their national team now consists of the same players we built into the team back then."