Russia striker Roman Pavlyuchenko says his new team Lokomotiv Moscow must finish at least third in the Premier League this season, which would secure Champions League football.
Pavlyuchenko moved to Lokomotiv from English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur last month for a reported fee of around 7.5 million pounds.
“We need to do our job and finish in the top three,” Pavlyuchenko told Lokomotiv fans in a discussion on the VKontakte social network.
Lokomotiv are fifth in the Russian Premier League with 14 games left this season, two points behind third-placed Dynamo Moscow, and 12 points off leaders Zenit St. Petersburg.
Pavlyuchenko said he had no guarantee of a place in the first team at his new club, where he will play alongside former Russia regular Dmitry Sychev.
“I’m ready to fight for my place in the side. I don’t have any guarantees at all at the moment. I’m going to work at every training session and prove my right to a place in the first team.”
He said that he remained friends with Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, the Russia international midfielder who started his career at Lokomotiv and moved from Everton to Spartak Moscow last month.
“At the moment Lokomotiv is the club that wanted to see me in its team. I’m very happy to be here. Diniyar is my good friend, so I’m ready to swap shirts with him,” he said.
Pavlyuchenko made 113 appearances for Tottenham, scoring 42 goals, since arriving from Spartak Moscow in August 2008. The 30-year-old striker has 45 caps for Russia, and has scored 20 goals for his country.
