Partizan squad ended two-week winter training camp staged at Turkish Antalya region and new Partizan boss Srdjan Blagojevic spoke to media reps on current matters.
“We did everything we planned and that`s very important at this stage. We were here for just over two weeks but it seems to me we worked together for much longer. We tried to get to know each other, to set the rules and learn new model of game. We made certain improvements during this training camp period and I`m pleased with it to start with”, said 51-year-old Blagojevic.
Media reps wanted to know how many players from Antalya squad will remain part of it.
“We had 30 outfield players and 4 goalkeepers here with us, we need to reduce this number definitely. At the same time, we have to talk with club management regarding transfer window and necessary squad corrections. I don`t like having lots of players in a training process, I want to have 23 players and 3 goalkeepers tops, even less than that. Of course, those players need to meet certain demands. Too many players on training sessions lead to focus being scattered around, organization itself is more complex and players who are not part of playing group can show discontent”.
A total of 11 Partizan Academy graduates joined winter training camp.
“We did take lots of them with us as that`s the club`s policy now and we want to show to them they are important to us. In a friendly against Hebar, outside de Medina, average age of our players on the field was 19,5. As it stands, we need to rely on our youngsters and to get back to the roots, when this club was based on producing players from its own ranks. Over the upcoming period, we will decide who will be in contention to play against Spartak and who will remain with the squad”.
Unfortunately, in a second week of Antalya camp, a total of 10 players were sidelined due to injuries or illnesses.
“What we are truly worried about are muscle injuries to Mujakic and Roganovic. We also have contact injuries to Zubairu, Ilic and Djurdjevic but we expect them to be back soon. As a result of these injuries, we lost two right-backs and centre-back Mujakic who means a lot to us. All this will influence our talks with Lazovic and Mijatovic and our possible moves on a transfer market”.
It seems winter signings Milosevic and Vukotic will not make their officials debuts early this year. Milosevic picked up and injury while Vukotic didn`t train in full capacity lately.
“I would like everyone to understand the situation Partizan is in. I`m not saying this to moan, complain or make excuses but for everyone to understand our current situation is quite complicated. We should unify and bring new energy together to move forward from this. I said it before, even if the roster remains unchanged, we`ll do our best make things better and to improve our quality of play”.
How capable this roster is to meet new demands?
“It`s not easy for them and me and my coaching team are aware we are pushing them out of their comfort zone, asking them to do certain things they were not used to doing before. But, that`s all part of the process and we try to make progress. We are close to what I would like to see here but there`s always space for improvement. We have a clear picture where we are now. Players did their best, made a great effort focusing, embraced new tasks and I cannot fault them in that department. Friendly against Jagiellonia, respectable side playing European competitions this season, showed us we are not on a required level yet. We want to dominate and win such teams in the future”.
There was lots of meeting, video analysis and tactics talk over the Antalya preps.
“I consider myself a demanding coach. For me, football is about constant study, information gathering and fast and quality decision-making. To get there, we need to gather info, look around and read what`s going on in our surroundings, make decisions based on it. I`m convinced we will make progress and players will benefit from it all”.
Partizan played four friendlies in Antalya, achieving 1 win and 3 draws, scoring the opener in each game.
“We have a problem regarding intensity over the course of the game. We try to change defensive and attacking play and it requires more energy. So far, we managed to cover parts of the game itself. Moreover, we used a great number of players and we saw both positive and negative things. When we do through analysis, we`ll get a clear view of path we are going to take work-wise. We are aware of our qualities and flaws and it`s on us to keep working, there`s no other way”, said Blagojevic.
