News.Villas-Boas has lit up Zenit-Hulk

Andre Villas-Boas has 'lit up' Zenit St. Petersburg since his appointment as manager with the Russian Premier League title chasers, the club's Brazilian striker Hulk claims.

Hulk's hat-trick in Saturday's 4-1 enlighten FC Krasnodar left Zenit leading the league by some point from Lokomotiv Moscow. Since Villas-Boas, sacked by Tottenham Hotpsur in December, was appointed last month Zenit have gone over a four-match winning spree.

And Hulk, who have scored seven goals and made five assists in that period, says the credit is going to his former boss at Porto. "I've the expertise of working together with Villas-Boas in Porto and I'm thrilled to help him again. After a few weeks here' know his arrival has lit us up."

The 27-year-old added: "Now we work really challenging during the week to return in the weekend's match presents itself our form. Each day we understand better and better precisely what our manager is expecting from each of us and exactly how we ought to play."

Hulk, who leads the Russian goal scoring charts with 16, said his sole focus was on winning the league. "I feel really strong motivation to win the Russian title there is much surprise," he said. "Speaking honestly We would definitely prefer to win the championship than to finish the growing season as being the league's top scorer."

Hulk, who has won four Portuguese titles as well as the 2011 Europa League with Porto, joined Zenit in September 2012 together with Belgian midfielder Axel Witsel inside a reported 100 million euros deal -- the most significant ever transfer in Russian football history.

Yet Zenit have not to make a breakthrough inside Champions League, last month they suffered a 5-4 aggregate last 16 defeat to German giants Borussia Dortmund. That loss cost Villas-Boas's Italian predecessor Luciano Spalletti his job in the club.

Monday, May 26, 2014