The series of international matches has come to an end, and once again, club football is in the centre of attention around the world as well as in Hungary. In the upcoming weeks, DVSC faces a significant challenge, playing three consecutive away games (Eger, Diósgyőr, Paks), then hosting Újpest at home. Head coach of DVSC, Srdjan Blagojevic shared his thoughts on this period for dvsc.hu.

On Saturday, Loki enters the Hungarian Cup, playing away against Eger at 3 pm. What kind of game do you expect?

“The cup competition is always interesting because it provides a great opportunity for teams, which are weaker on paper, to reach the very end and emerge as winners from the duel against “stronger teams”. Last year’s experience in the Hungarian Cup confirms that. The first evidence is the final, in which ZTE and Budafok played against each other, and the second, perhaps the biggest one, is the relegation of Ferencváros against a third league club. It’s a very interesting competition that challenges not only the technical and tactical quality of the team but also its psychological stability and level of seriousness. We respect our future opponent, they will certainly be highly motivated and we are aware of the fact that it will be a big test for us. I don’t think that it will be easy for us at all and none of us have written a victory in advance. We need a serious approach and attitude in order to turn our quality into a victory.”

After the great start, three away games are in front of the team.

“We passed the first stage, which was quite tiring and demanding. We have finished our European tour for this season but the domestic competitions are ahead of us. We are in a good starting position but we have to admit that the fact that we played all the matches at home helped us a lot to be on the top of the table right now. On the other hand, everything that was done at the beginning of the season deserves a lot of respect. However, we all know that the next situation is always the most important and we always depend on the next game. Thus, we have to prove ourselves week by week. A block of away games are ahead of us, against serious opponents. It will be a big challenge for us, and at the same time, an opportunity to try to strengthen what we have achieved so far.”

There are some injured players, such as Meldin Dreskovic, Alexander Mojzis, and earlier Joao Oliveira and Botond Vajda also got injured. How can this situation be managed?

“We have the misfortune that some of our players are injured, which is problematic regarding our planning, as well as the departure of some players who helped us significantly in the previous period. New players need time for adaptation but all newcomers went through this in the previous period. Only hard, persistent work, with necessary patience and support can help us to fulfill our ambitions. I would like to emphasize the necessary support of everyone who can help because we all have a common desire.”

The Hungarian and Serbian national teams play in the same group of the European Championship qualifiers and in Belgrad, Hungary won 2-1. How do you see the chances as a Serbian coach, working in Hungary?

“I would like to congratulate Hungary on the victory, it was deserved. I hope that Serbia will make a better impression in Budapest. What I commented before the game, came true. Serbia has greater individual quality, while Hungary has better organization and a more positive atmosphere around its team. The latter decided the winner of the first-leg. However, I am sure that both national teams will qualify for the European Championship. For me, as a man who is from Serbia and works with pleasure and pride in Hungary, that would be a great pleasure.”