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By Sonia Oxley
VIENNA, June 24 (Reuters) - Russia might as well not bother showing up for their Euro 2008 semi-final against Spain if they play anything like they did in their group stage hammering by the Spanish, coach Guus Hiddink said on Tuesday.
The Dutchman, who has found a way of plugging the holes in the defence that leaked so badly in that first match and coaxed the team into playing a stylish attacking game, vowed there would be no repeat of that 4-1 drubbing on Thursday.
"If we play as we did before we don't even have to start this game. We may as well hand over our wallets to Spain," he told reporters after a training session in Vienna.
"We have tried, of course, to improve. The team has learnt a lot in a very short time. We hope to continue that."
He said it would be a test of his inexperienced players whether they could continue riding on the momentum they had built up with their stunning wins over Sweden and Netherlands.
"That's always the question if the team with not as much experience can continue," he said.
GREAT SPECTACLE
"It's always the advantage of more experienced teams like Spain, they are used to playing tough matches every four or five days."
Midfielder Ivan Saenko, who did not train on Monday with an ankle injury, had an individual workout on Tuesday and Hiddink said he still did not know whether he would be fit for the match.
"He's still got a little bit of a problem but we will see tomorrow if he can participate," the coach said.
Thursday's match in Vienna has all the ingredients of a great spectacle and Hiddink said it was great to see teams that play attractive football doing so well at the championship.
"It will be a clash of two teams who both like to play football and that's interesting," he said. "That's the big win of this tournament; the teams that like to play football are through."
