UEFA Cup winners Zenit St Petersburg must hold on to their best players to make an impression in next season’s Champions League, manager Dick Advocaat said.
Zenit have built on the success of winning the Russian title last year by celebrating their first European triumph on Wednesday after a 2-0 win over Rangers at the City of Manchester stadium.
Zenit are backed by the seemingly limitless resources of Russian energy giant Gazprom, but Advocaat fears they will become victims of their own success, with Europe’s top clubs ready to prize away top assets like Russia playmaker Andrei Arshavin.
“It will be a problem now, there is no doubt that some players will go,” Dutchman Advocaat said.
“Then you have to start again. That’s a problem when you become successful. We must keep not only Arshavin, but other important players.
Advocaat said the sale of Slovakia defender Martin Skrtel was a case in point.
Skrtel, an important part of Zenit’s run to the Russian championship, joined Liverpool in January and has impressed for the Premier League side in the second half of the season.
“Those kind of players you have to keep,” said Advocaat, who plans to add to his squad before Zenit make their Champions League bow in September.
“You have to try and keep this team together and buy three or four other players to make the squad better, then you can rotate in the different competitions,” he said.
“At the moment with Zenit it is 12, 13, 14 players who have played in all the games.”
