FK Sartid manager Jovica Skoro says he has a lot of respect for Ipswich Town and says the two sides have a very similar approach to the game. The Serbians trained at Portman Road on Wednesday evening ahead of Thursday's UEFA Cup second round first leg game.
Skoro and club captain, the 35-year-old skipper and star man, Goran Bogdanovich, faced the press on Wednesday evening with Town's Ticket Office coordinator Goran Doncic providing translations. Doncic was brought up in Ipswich but lived in Smederevo for a while.
Sartid boss Skoro says he thinks a lot of the Blues: "I have the utmost respect for Ipswich Town. I know that it is a very good club, as the majority of English clubs are. Ipswich are a respected side in Yugoslavia.”
He singled out Matt Holland and Pablo Couñago as players who have impressed him on video. He and the captain had both watched the Blues in action on tape in the pre-season game against Celta Vigo.
Skoro has also had UK-based spies watching Town: "There are obviously people from Smederevo who live here or who have spent time over here and have watched the club as well as video footage of Town's games.”
The Serb boss refused to pick any individual as a key man for his side, feeling that the game will be very much a team affair: "Ipswich and Sartid play a very similar style of game and because they are so similar it will be one-on-one and the better team will win. Tomorrow's match will be a team effort, we'll play hard and do our best as a team.”
Arguably, Bogdanovich is the key to his side, but is still a doubt ahead of the game with a leg injury. The Sartid captain said no decision has been made yet: "I have had an injury and after this training session we'll decide whether I'll play.”
Other than Bogdanovich, the Serbs are injury free while other star men include Yugoslav international keeper Dragan Zilic and midfielder Boris Vaskovic.
The game will get a lot of attention back in Yugoslavia with Town a famous name according to Skoro: "It's a match which is looked on in Smederevo, and possibly in Yugoslavia, as a very big game. Ipswich is very well-known, a club which is greatly respected, not just by us, but by many fans and it is quite a big occasion.”
Sartid is not a club with a long history, only becoming a top-flight side in recent years. Bogdanovich says that beating Town would be an historical achievement for such a young club. He added that from what he has seen of the Blues on tape he feels they were unlucky to drop out of the Premiership last season.
The interest in Yugoslavia is such that the game is being shown live on national TV2, a channel available live on the Internet here: www.rts.co.yu
Highlights of the game are also on Anglia at 11.30pm on Thursday night.