The coach of Vojvodina FC, Božidar Bandović and the midfielder Vukan Savićević are optimistic before the rematch of the third qualifying round for the Conference League against the team of Maribor.

Players of the Old Lady are hosting the Slovenian team on Thursday from 8 pm at TSC Arena, and they will try to make up for the result of 2:1 from the first match in Maribor.

  • We all know the kind of situation we are in at the moment, we lined up defeats in the last couple of games, but we have to mobilize so to say, and close the ranks. We had a meeting after TSC, we know what we have to do. Our coach pointed out certain things, and we had a meeting with the club’s president, Zbiljić, and we all know that our assignment is to pass Maribor. We are talking about a quality team, we all know that the most dangerous player is Iličić, but football is a game of 11 players, and we as a team are strong, and can overcome this roadblock – Vukan Savićević said.

Bandović underlined that he believes in his team and that Vojvodina can make up for the lost points, but he highlighted that the team will be weakened.

  • It is a significant match for us. In the first match, we had some good segments, in certain situations we saw some decisions that were questionable. We have to be more focused, so that I as a coach can do something to help the players win. I believe in these players and my staff, there is no doubt about it. Even though the results are lacking, we played well. I would also like to say that this team started forming up in January, and in seven months we have done plenty of good things, and I say that for the players, not for myself. I don’t want to stay in some club because I have good connections, but because of my work and my team and game style. As for the faith and hope to pass into the next round, I believe that with their energy and game, these players gave the fans the hope that we could do more. It is a great challenge. All players that arrived, from January until now, they all helped and will help. Let me just answer one question from the previous conference. I don’t see a single miss, and no player will be a miss. Why do I say that? I would like to highlight the facts. Some players arrived in the last week of preparations, and it takes time to achieve a certain communication. And aside from that, we were close to winning and I believe that we can. I was the first to say that we needed a pitch for playing, because these players deserve a good pitch, but now we are on the road constantly. Those are not excuses, those are the facts which require patience. Injuries of Vukanović, Poletanović, and Radulović are not something we were expecting, it would have been best if we had the whole team together. Aleksa will take a break for a few months, and we have to wait, but I always say, we can live without one person – Bandović pinpointed.

Vukan Savićević thanked the fans on their support and invited them to be there on Thursday and support the team.

  • The fans gave us huge support and I would like to thank them for that. It is not easy for them, they travel all the time, and I see that on social networks, they are inviting all the people to come to Bačka Topola and support us, and I hope it will be like that on Thursday – Savićević highlighted.

He also answered the question why Vojvodina is not shooting more on the opponent’s goal.

– Everyone analyzes everyone, and everybody knows that we like to play from the goalkeeper. In some moments we made Ajax go into a low block. Many of our rivals play that way, and in those situations there is not a lot of space for the shots from the distance. Maribor surprised us a bit with their approach, we had to play more through the center shots. We are working on that, analyzing the rival and as for those tactical issues, I am certain that our staff has a solution – Savićević pinpointed.

The coach of Vojvodina admitted that he would have accepted bad playing, but defeating Maribor, but that is not a plan that would be enough in the long run.

  • I hear people say that we play well, but there are no results. I as a coach have something to hope for, if I play well, and I repeated that many times. Would I accept if we played the next match bad, and pass? The answer is Yes, but if we play bad in a row, then I have nothing to hope for. That is as clear as a day. As for the physical and psychological condition or exhaustion, it is not easy to play on two fronts. Did you see that against TSC they were fresher, which was logical after our difficult match? We saw the opposite. Our team maintained the rhythm, had energy, played pressing, we chased the result, but at no moment were we tired. There is that psychological exhaustion because we travel non-stop. We have to belive, we are in a big club. These players who arrived last, didn’t go through preparations, and that is why they need time, and that is hard when we play every three-four days. The new players will need more time to get to the level of those players who have been with us since the winter, and who went on preparations – Bandović said.

Savićević has no doubt that Vojvodina will show their true colors and a winner’s mentality.

  • As a team we have a very strong winner’s mentality, which we showed even against Ajax. There was a fall in self-confidence after the defeat by Čukarički, but I believe that we will be back and show that we have quality and that we deserve to pass into the next round. I really believe in our team – Vukan Savićević concluded.

In the end, Bandović responded to the question about the most dangerous players of Maribor.

  • We saw in the first match how dangerous Iličić is when he is turned towards the goal, but you also have Jakupović, whose goals we analyzed before our match. Maribor has dangerous players on the flanks as well, and we have to be aware of all of that. I think that if we maintain our level, we have a big chance to pass – Bandović said.