Tomi Lamsa, the new head coach at Salavat Yulaev, is only the second non-Russian to take the job. However, his appointment is far from a gamble — the 40-year-old Finn is already more than familiar with the club after three years as an assistant coach. Now, he’s hoping that experience can help him take the team back to the top.

“My task is a little easier because I’ve already worked here,” he said in an exclusive interview with KHL.ru. “I had time to get to know the league and the players. There was a lot of work to do: I watched a lot of videos, talked with players and my fellow coaches. And now, after a few years, I feel like I understand the Russian mentality a bit better, I understand the approach to the coaching process. Even so, I’m learning something new every day and I understand just how much work we need to do.”

an article by khl.ru