Dynamo delighted with Demyanenko

Remarkable recovery
Demyanenko has been in temporary charge since Leonid Buryak resigned in August following Dynamo's failure to reach the UEFA Champions League group stage. Since then, Dynamo have not lost a match, turning a five-point deficit behind FC Shakhtar Dontesk into a six-point lead with 19 rounds played, although their rivals have a game in hand.

'So impressive'
Regardless, the team will enter the winter break this weekend as Premier League leaders. "Results under Demyanenko have been so impressive that the club have decided to give him a full-time contract," the club said. "Starting today, the legendary Dynamo defender of the 1980s will head our coaching staff."

Promotion deserved
Prior to his appointment, Demyanenko had spent 12 years on the Dynamo coaching staff as assistant to Nikolai Pavlov, Joszef Szabo, Valeriy Lobanovskiy, Olexiy Mykhaylichenko and Buryak. The 46-year-old's accession to the top job means he will have his own assistants, namely Valeriy Zuyev, Viktor Kondratov and goalkeeping specialist Mykhaylo Mykhaylov.

Impressive career
Demyanenko played for Dynamo for more than a decade but also gained experience abroad in Germany and Poland. A former club captain, he helped Dynamo win five Soviet titles, four USSR Cups as well as the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1986. He claimed 80 Soviet Union caps, scoring six goals, and was the country's Player of the Year in 1985.