Mijović: I learned to expect the unexpected, I wouldn't have accepted the job if I didn't think the team had reserves

On Saturday evening, 44 minutes before midnight, and after a shocking defeat against Borec, which allowed the Čačani team to seek survival in the AdmiralBet ABA League in a playoff with Helios, The future loves has announced that it has mutually terminated cooperation with Vladimir Jovanović.

The 49-year-old Čačanin did not have any great achievements left behind - the team often seemed too anemic, easily losing a huge advantage, which hurt the most in the round of XNUMX against Ulm, when plus 17 was "spill"., so she finished the Eurocup with almost 9:10 and much earlier than the goal.

Not everything was bright in the regional competition, on the contrary. Defeats against FMP, Igokea and Split were painful, fans were even more bothered by the impotence against Crvena zvezda (twice) and Partizan, and the 3rd place was won relatively easily thanks to the big failures of Cedevit Olimpija and the precipitous fall of FMP after leaving Trent Fraser.

As four years ago, the management decided that in April the trust would Petar Mijović. Then the expert from the Bar got a chance after his resignation Jasmina Repesa after a convincing defeat by Zvezda in the final of the ABA League (97:54) and won the title of champion of Montenegro, with 3:2 in the final against Sailors.

Now he has a much more complex task ahead of him than at the end of the 2018/2019 season - on his third debut, he will play against Partizan on Friday, who need a victory in "Morača" to secure 1st place before the start of the playoffs. After that, there will be confrontations with Mega in the quarter-finals of the ABA League, and eventual confrontations with Crvena Zvezda (or Partizan) in the semi-finals...

In an interview for "Vijesti", the returner to the bench of the champion of Montenegro points out that parting with Jovanović did not surprise him, because he learned that this is a normal thing in basketball.

"Basically, the business is such that there are no surprising things. I learned from more experienced coaches, who have taken a serious path to the top level, that you always expect the unexpected. It is clear that the timing is not the best, because it is the middle of April, but I would not say yes to the people who gave me the job if I did not think that there were reserves in the team. In the period that is ahead of us - in the quarter-finals of the ABA League and the semi-finals, in which it is imperative that we meet, as well as in the finish of the First League, we have ambitions and we want to fulfill them. That was always important to me when accepting a job," said the 41-year-old expert.

It is clear that the team fell mentally after the relegation from Ulm,

"I don't want any alibi, but the fact is that the moment is complex. The early relegation in the Eurocup brought great emotional and less physical exhaustion, which also affected the defeat against Borc. The team is experiencing a drop in self-confidence, I think that now the reserves of this team are much greater on the psychological level than on the basketball level".

Mijović will do the first training with the team today and try to prepare it for a very demanding duel with the Belgraders, with whom he has a great record - in his second term on the bench of the Podgorica club, from October 2019 to January 2021, against the "black and white ” recorded three wins and a loss.

Admittedly, the situation is much different now, because in the meantime, Partizan brought in a legendary player Željko Obradović, has a much bigger budget, and an excellent team, as evidenced by their placement in the quarterfinals of the Euroleague.

"It is unnecessary to talk about the quality of Partizan. We witnessed that half of the teams from the top of the Euroleague wanted to avoid the Belgraders in the playoffs, considering the form, talent, quality of the team, and the best European coach. Partizan is the most difficult opponent at the moment we are in, but that can also be a mitigating circumstance. The key is to enter the match with the attitude that we want to play, to be in the game as long as possible through work engagement, and if the dice match, why not surprise? They are favorites, they are the best managed team in Europe, but Buducnost is also third at the end of the regular course of the ABA League, which is proof that it has quality. We have to go into every game with that mentality, with the desire to win, not just the match with Partizan. I want to pass on such an approach to the boys, so that with good head work we 'focus' on winning".

There is little time for the new-old coach to change much in the game of his predecessor, but some changes are inevitable.

"People who were part of Jovanović's coaching staff, and will be in mine as well, told me that the team worked very well, that it was a dedicated group. That makes me happy, because these are guys you can work with, and there are certain reserves in them. My goal is to raise the structure of the game to a higher level in both the attack and defense phases, and that will also depend on the adaptation of several ideas. Time is not our ally, there will be some changes, but they won't be too big. Psychology can be of crucial importance, and training will be the only criterion. I want to change the roles of individual players, I wouldn't want to talk about the names, but I think that we will get the opportunity to continuously be more aggressive in both directions", concluded Mijović.