After four rounds where Vojvodina won 3 points total, the Old Lady is playing against Radnički Niš, and Lalatović hopes for the victory.

  • Firstly, I am sorry that we drew in the first four rounds, and lost one match. The last two matches where we lost points are inexplicable, first we had a victory which we lost 5 seconds before the end, and then happened IMT, where we had two bars, two goal posts, and a 100% chance by Mladenović, which was harder to miss than to score. All of that was a big shock for us, and for me as a coach. If someone told me at the start of the half-season that these things would happen, I would have said it was impossible, but football proves you wrong. We are going to Niš, where I was the vice-champion with their team, and played the Cup finale, and it is a club where I had a nice time. I had a good relationship with the fans and with the club management. That team is led by my ex-player, my favourite player, Nikola Drinčić. I was a coach in many other clubs, and he is the greatest professional I worked with, and I wish him plenty of luck in his coaching career. What I want for myself, I want for him too, and for his family. As for the game, Radnički has an exquisite team, they are particularly good when they play at home, they know what they want, and they have some players whom I would like to have here in Vojvodina. We are facing a hard match, especially on a psychological level. We had a meeting, we were visited by the fans, and we talked in a friendly tone, and I think that we needed that. I would like to thank the fans for coming, and for being fair and correct to the team, and hopefully that will shake us up. I have to say, anything but the victory is a failure for us. We will give our all because that victory would be the wind in our sails. Vojvodina has to win; I will not give up on the third place. I am not saying that I will achieve that, but for me it would be the end of the world if Vojvodina wouldn’t play Europe. Every coach has their goal, and that is the goal I am fighting for in my head. The players are aware of everything, I hold nothing against them, they want to fight, they fight, but unfortunately things happened in the previous two games. Maybe this match is the right time to show our true face. I know what I gave to Vojvodina, and how much I love this club, even more than some of the people who come to the games. I have the most wins, and games, and no one can take that away from me. My name will always remain written in golden letters in the club’s history. I live in Novi Sad, and I consider Vojvodina my home – Lalatović said.

He also reflected on the injury of Romanić, which changed the concept of the last match.

  • We were disrupted by the injury of Romanić, up until that moment I had believed that we would win with 2 goals. Due to the large number of injured players, I had no choice but to change the lineup, so Dele had to change from the wing to the center, midfielder had to move to the wing, so that Mladenović would enter the game. That is not an alibi, but that had to happen that way, and you could feel that during the match – Lalatović pointed out.

He answered the question about the potential ultimatum before the match at the Čair stadium.

  • The pressure is always there, I have pressure since I arrived to Vojvodina. I don’t feel the pressure from the people in the club, but on the side, from some media, who couldn’t wait for me to leave. I will leave when the president Zbiljić says. I don’t have the ultimatum, I have the trust of the people in the club, the fans, and I feel the responsibility. In the first two mandates, I participated in the team creation, now I wasn’t that included, but I am pleased with the players. I don’t need anyone to give my ultimatums, I am always willing to cooperate, and leaving is the smallest problem. However, we should see whose fault it is, if it is the fault of Bandović, Krtolica, Lalatović, so the third coach right, which is unbelievable for a club this big – Lalatović highlights.

He reflected on the staff before the trip to Niš.

  • Romanić is ready, Medojević began his training sessions, Savićević as well, but I think that they will all be ready for the next match. They are all important because of the bench, we saw that now against IMT when we had to have two goalkeepers on the bench, to fill the number. Bolingi had been sick for a long time, he is a lion, and it is incredible the kind of energy which he has, he deserves to play, but that requires more time. I wish that we had one player who can enter the game from the bench and bring something new to the game – Lalatović said.

The coach of Vojvodina expressed regret that Marko Jovanović, sports director, has left the club.

  • I am sorry that Marko Jovanović left, because he is an excellent sports director. However, that’s football, and the coach and the sports director are always guilty. Journalists say that Lalatović lost, but I am not Vojvodina, because the club is bigger than me. There are no 11 versions of me on the field, but 11 players. I don’t want to let anyone provoke me, I don’t know what the people write or comment – Lalatović said.

In the end, he reflected on the winter transfer period, during which Lazar Romanić arrived.

  • We had an excellent transfer period, we couldn’t bring a lot, I want to bring three-four players, but we didn’t have the budget for that. I wanted a few new players, because I wanted new, fresh blood. When I bring a player, I look at his character, not only his technical skills. I want the players who always give their 110%, to play in both directions. I may have brought weaker players, but they had winner’s mentality. Marko Jovanović did an excellent job, I would have brought all those players myself, but as I said, we all have to work on the mentality and character – Lalatović concluded.

The match between Vojvodina and Radnički is scheduled for Wednesday at 6:30pm with a live broadcast at RTV1 and Arena Premium 1.