Aleš Arnol is not burdened by expectations before the continuation of the season and believes in the discipline and hard work of his players

The team of Bravo led by Aleš Arnol is entering the second part of the season with a new name and some minor roster changes. Matej Poplatnik, Matic Ivanšek, Jakoslav Stanković, and Lan Štravs have earned contract extensions with good performances. Additionally, Victor Gidado, who will provide additional competition in the midfield, impressed during the trial period. Milan Tučić has returned to Ljubljana from the land of the rising sun, and the defense has been strengthened by the loanee Jan Gorenc, while Tihomir Maksimović will try to transfer his good performances from 2. SNL to the highest level.

“During the break, our primary focus was on contract extensions. We wanted, and we succeeded in retaining the core of the team that achieved results and showed great football potential. There were expectedly fewer personnel changes. We enhanced the mentioned core with players who fit into our playing concept and characteristically suit our way of work. I am very satisfied with the new players. I believe they will contribute to additional competition, but, of course, it’s up to them to prove it on the field,” explains Aleš Arnol his perspective on the player roster.

Bravo is currently in a high fifth place after the first part of this season, and after 19 rounds, they have never had as many points in any of the previous four seasons in Prva liga Telemach. “Our football content proved to be correct and successful in the first part of the season. In recent weeks, we have worked to improve and upgrade certain details of the game model, both in the attacking and defensive phases. A significant emphasis in the second part of the season will be on refining the team tactics, with the most attention given to the development of individual tactics for the players’ positions. Players are the ones who make a difference within the concept and enrich the team’s game. In general, we want to maintain what characterized us in the first part – we aim to cultivate compact and aggressive play, with a lot of defense against the ball. In the attacking phase, the red thread will still be dynamic play directed towards the opponent’s goal, where we want to remain concrete,” adds the 39-year-old.

The squad, which will compete in the spring part of the season under the name Bravo Kostel, spent the preparatory period in Ljubljana and Čatež. “We can be satisfied with the completed preparatory period. Rok Maher and Martin Pečar are slowly returning to full operation. We showed the right image in friendly matches. Regarding the results of friendly matches, there is no need to say much. Our current competitive ability will only be demonstrated in the championship matches after the first rounds of the spring part of the season. Then we will receive final feedback on the entire preparatory period and based on that, continue our work in the current season or adjust the work,” said the head coach of Bravo Kostel, adding: “We start from scratch. We are aware that we will need to prove ourselves anew in every match; the demands for the team will be higher. All clubs are pursuing their performance goals, and therefore, it is never easy in the league. Quite the opposite. We do not burden ourselves with expectations. We have an ambitious and competitive team that wants to progress. The only true measure will be the field, our game. Here we will not avoid responsibility. From game to game, from training to training, we will ensure that we are in better performance condition, that we are increasingly precise in the execution. Results are always the result of good work and not daydreaming or thinking about expectations.”