St Andrews will take on Floriana in the opening match of Day Four of the BOV Premier League at the Centenary Stadium, in what will be Marko Glumac’s maiden game as the Saints head coach.
Last week St Andrew’s parted ways with Danilo Doncic on the eve of their match against Ħamrun Spartans, as the Serbian coach sought pastures new overseas.
The Serbian coach said that he had no plans to disrupt the work done by Doncic.
“I won’t revamp the team’s tactics in order to not hinder any progress and development that has been done under my predecessor (Danilo Doncic)”, Glumac told Times of Malta.
“He (Doncic) did a great job here and it is important to maintain a positive harmony in this environment in order to achieve positive results.”
Glumac is not a new face at St Andrews as he already worked with the club as one of their coaches in the academy and also assisted former coach Brian Said during his tenure while they were challenging for promotion in Division One.
He will be assisted by Fausto Craighero as assistant coach, Gianluca Parlato in the role of goalkeeper’s coach and physical trainer Alejandro Pantoja.
“I do have some ideas to propose for my team but it is important that first I keep the existing plans in place in order to have a better understanding of the traits that characterise my players,” Glumac underlined.
“Nonetheless, it is a challenge that I will embrace with a huge sense of professionalism in order to fulfill the potential of my players.”
Despite losing two of their first three games, St Andrews have produced decent performances especially in the 3-2 upset over last year’s title contenders Balzan and in their latest game against the Spartans, where despite losing 2-1 they remained lively until the final whistle.
Kevaughn Atkinson, who spent last season at Mosta, has been crucial in the early outings for St Andrews as he netted twice in their win against Balzan and also offered them further options in attack with his skill, structure and technique.
“Having arrived just few days ago, I have not yet set any final targets for the club. Our aim will be to play game after game with the right attitude and see where this mentality takes us,” he said.
Meanwhile, Floriana will be striving to take victory home after their 1-1 draw against Hibernians of last week, which left them with five points after three rounds of fixtures.
So far, the Greens have only one win to show – a 5-0 hammering of bottom-placed Tarxien Rainbows, and they surely feel as though they let wins against Birkirkara and Hibernians slip from their grasp.