Third spell for Yaremchenko

Valeriy Yaremchenko has begun his third spell in charge of FC Shakhtar Donetsk after his impressive efforts as caretaker coach persuaded the club to appoint him on a full-time basis.

Winning run
Yaremchenko took temporary charge of Shakhtar following Nevio Scala's resignation after September's 5-1 UEFA Cup drubbing at FK Austria Wien. He led the Ukrainian champions on an eight-match winning run which has left them five points ahead of great rivals FC Dynamo Kyiv going into the winter break.

'He knows our strengths'
Rinat Akhmetov, Shakhtar's chairman, announced the decision late last night and said of Yaremchenko: "He knows how to make Shakhtar stronger." Yaremchenko had been working as the club's director of football before Scala's resignation and Akhmetov added: "In his time working under Scala, he learned a lot of good things. Yaremchenko knows what the strengths of our team are, and what needs attention."

'Difficult task'
Akhmetov, who said Yaremchenko, 55, had been "appointed for ten years", described him as a "tough" operator - a useful trait as the job could prove "much more difficult than it was before".

Long association
Yaremchenko's previous spells as Shakhtar coach came between 1991 and 1994, and 1997 and 2000. Under him, the Donetsk side finished league runners-up four times and also won the Ukrainian Cup in 1997. He is also a former player of the club, making 266 appearances for Shakhtar in the old Soviet league

Success with Scala
Commenting on Scala's spell at the club, Akhmetov said: "Shakhtar went through an experiment when we brought in a foreign coach last January, and he added a European philosophy to the team. I think we were right - with Scala, we won our first title, also winning the cup and beating Dynamo three times. But now we have to move on."