I did not celebrate because of my respect for Serbia - Rajevac

(William Ezah, GNA Special Correspondent, Pretoria, South Africa)

Pretoria, June 14, GNA - Ghana's coach Milovan Rajevac has said he did not celebrate Ghana's victory over Serbia due to the respect for his country.

Coach Rajevac, who hails from Serbia, pushed away his assistant Kwesi Appiah, when the latter tried to embrace him after Ghana's lone goal victory in Sunday's match.

Speaking at a Press Conference in Pretoria on Monday, the coach said, "I have a lot of respect for my country and to show that I decided to stay away from the celebration".

According to the coach, even though he was happy with the victory, celebrating will be a sign of disrespect.

Commenting on the match, the coach described it as a tactical battle between the two sides, adding that the players were made aware of the situation before the start of the game.

The Serbian said his players were given the needed briefing and tactics to overcome the Serbians and was delighted at the level of tactical discipline exhibited by the players in the course of the game. "My players won the day because they were tactically disciplined, more determined and aggressive and that is what has kept us going in the past two years, since I became coach of Ghana.

"We will remain focussed for the next game against Australia because we have to win that match to ensure progress to the next stage of the competition," he stated.

Coach Rajevac said though the team won the first game, he might consider tactical changes as well as the composition of the playing body because he had seen some improvement on the injury situation in camp. "Muntari was not fit enough for the game; that is why he sat on the bench and Kwadwo Asamoah was battling with fitness in the course of the match, but I hope they will be strong for the next game on Saturday."

The coach said their presence would make the team better in the next match, but did not indicate whether they would start from the bench or given starting roles.

He said, "We will continue to work hard in the few days ahead because the next match is as crucial as the first game and we must go all out to win".

It would be recalled that the loyalty of the Serbian was questioned after Ghana was paired with Serbia in Group D, for the 2010 World Cup. But days before the start of the World Cup, the coach insisted that he would be professional and ensure that Ghana won the game. MI