MOSCOW, July 2. /TASS/. Head Coach of the Russian football team Stanislav Cherchesov said on Friday that he had never shifted blame onto his players for the unsuccessful performance of the national team at the 2020 UEFA Euro Cup.

On June 30, the Russian Football Union (RFU) Technical Committee gathered for a session to assess the performance of the national team at the European football championship. Following the session, some of the committee’s members voiced their support for Cherchesov adding that the team’s failure at the 2020 UEFA Euro Cup was down to the players’ lack of quality.

"I have not said a single word about the players," Cherchesov told a news conference on Friday. "This is what can be said by members of the [RFU] Technical Committee, and they said it."

"I am responsible for every single word I say, while members of the Technical Committee have their own opinion, and each of them has the right to voice it," Cherchesov added.

Also on June 30, the RFU Technical Committee gave Cherchesov’s endeavors at the 2020 UEFA Euro Cup low marks branding them unsatisfactory.

"If [we’re] speaking about my possible resignation and other high-profile statements, I should say that I never thought that I would take it calmly," Cherchesov said. "We will discuss this issue [about a possible resignation] in a very calm and business-like manner. There have been no detailed talks with the executive management on this issue as of yet".

However, Cherchesov said he was ready to quit anytime as "soon as he is told to stop".

"I should, first of all, meet with the executive management," the coach said. "Leaving a governmental occupation is not that easy… I am doing my work and as soon as I’m told to stop it will be over for me," Cherchesov added.

2020 UEFA Euro Cup

Last month at the 2020 UEFA Euro Cup, the Russian national team failed to clear the group stage of the tournament. The Russian football team wrapped up its European championship tour finishing in Group B’s cellar with three points after three matches.

The team kicked off its 2020 Euro Cup campaign with a 0-3 defeat against Belgium and a 1-0 win over Finland - both matches were played in Russia’s St. Petersburg. Nevertheless, they lost to Denmark 1-4 in Copenhagen on the night of June 21.

Head coach of the Russian football team

Cherchesov, 57, took the reins of the national football squad in the summer of 2016 signing a contract with the RFU to work as the head coach of the team until August 2018.

In July 2018, the RFU extended the contract with Cherchesov for two more years stipulating an option of prolonging it for another two-year term. The decision of the Russian governing football body to maintain its partnership with Cherchesov followed the national team’s successful home performance during the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Led by Cherchesov, the Russian national football team managed to reach the knockout stage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup advancing with a win over the Spanish team in the round of Last 16 and then losing on a penalty shootout in the quarterfinals to Croatia, who eventually went on to the final of that world championship in Russia.