Milovan Rajevac says the challenge of qualifying Ghana to a second successive World Cup finals motivated his desire to pick up the Black Stars job.
The 54 year-old Serbian manager was introduced to the media in Accra today by the Ghana Football Association after signing a 2-year contract.
Ghana qualified for a debut World Cup finals in 2006 and made an impact with Rajevac’s fellow national, Ratomir Dujkovic masterminding that dream.
With the standards raised and the FA embarking on ‘Agenda 2010’ campaign prior to the start of the qualifiers in June, Milovan Rajevac admits he is ready to accomplish the difficult task of another World Cup berth.
“I am here because of the World Cup,” Rajevac told www.ghanafa.org in an exclusive interview through an interpreter.
“I believe in the ability of the Ghana national team to qualify for the World Cup once again.
“It’s a wonderful challenge which wouldn’t be easy but I am hopeful of leading Ghana to South Africa.
“But I know with the support of the FA, the team, committed players, the fans and everyone involved, we would make it.”
Despite taking on board a new challenge, Milovan Rajevac says he has prior knowledge of the task ahead, having spoken to Ratomir Dujkovic, who guided Ghana to a first ever World Cup appearance and draws inspiration from the former Black Stars coach.
“He did very well here and that impressed me. He achieved a historical success here and that was one of the reasons why I am here. I want to emulate him.
“Yes, I have. I spoke to him briefly on telephone. It was not a lengthy conversation. He’s a friend and we played together at Red Star Belgrade.
“He said Ghanaians are very passionate about football and the Ghanaian footballers are very talented. I have confirmed that myself by watching Ghanaian players on DVDs,” Milovan Rajevac said about his fellow national.
The new coach says he would not be bringing on any new backroom staff as he prepares to work with the team already in place.
“We have the full support of everyone. I would stick to the staff that I have and look to into the future.”