Putin demands more from Russia

President Vladimir Putin has called on Russia’s reeling team to pull themselves together as they head into their first home World Cup.

Russia have picked a terrible time to go on their worst run in the post-Soviet era. A 1-1 draw in Moscow with Turkey on Tuesday made Stanislav Cherchesov the first Russian manager to go winless in seven consecutive games. “As far as the team are concerned, I must acknowledge the fact that, unfortunately, our team have not achieved big results in recent times,” Putin said.—Agencies