Ivan Juric has predicted Southampton could do an exceptional job by staying up this season and says he is obsessed with developing players.
Ivan Juric has done a lot of media work over the last few days. This comes as part of the job of managing an English team but the Croatia international has presented himself incredibly well when speaking to the English press.
Juric was not involved in the preparations for Southampton’s recent Premier League draw against Fulham. However, he did watch on from the crowds. Not only was he watching on, he was also chanting words of encouragement to his new Southampton players.
Ivan Juric addresses his obsession and promises one thing to Southampton
So, the hype around Ivan Juric which grows day by day is understandable, especially if he fulfils his promises. He is incredibly optimistic and he’s even spoken about the challenge of staying up, which not many teams have done from this position, but reveals it would only be a more exceptional feat.
In his own words (quoted by Gianluca di Marzio), Ivan Juric said: “I know it will be a very hard job. In history, no one has ever stayed in the Premier League starting from this situation . I think we can do something exceptional and the boys must be very motivated to do something that no one has done.”
Then, Juric expressed what should be expected of him. He said that he plans to place an emphasis on developing players at the individual level. In fact, he is obsessed with player development and believes he can increase player values.
Juric continued: “What I really like to do is improve the players . I am obsessed: if you give me a player whose value is five, after a year he is eight . I like to work and analyse.”
To really drill down what should be expected of Juric and his playing style, he compared what he wants to achieve to Atalanta. Fans across the world will recognise Atalanta as the Europa League winners and a real successs story of European football.
Juric concluded by saying: “Maybe people don’t know the work I did in Turin or Verona because we didn’t play in Europe, but my style is that of Atalanta . We want to press high and play well.”
This is a complete polar opposite to the way Russell Martin setup at the start of this season. Under Martin, Southampton were slow and patient, which worked to their detriment. Under Juric, Southampton will play at a faster-pace and press defenders highly.
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