Back to the Journey man. A Lisbon lion's tale.

New jobs are always exciting, I wish you well with Lokomotiva. Hopefully you can get them on the right tracks...

Lokomotiva Zagreb 2023 - 2024 season

Well this was unexpected. I’ve gone from Plock in Poland to the capital of Croatia, Zagreb. This is a great city in a great footballing country. Okay so Croatia is dominated by Dinamo Zagreb and Hadjuk Split but there’s definitely potential here. This club literally hasn’t won anything! Nothing at all! That’s 1 of the reasons I accepted this job. If I can get some success here I’d be very happy. I have got a lot of plans for this club and I genuinely think I can get this club somewhere, where that is I don’t know but the sky is the limit here.

First things first for me today, and that is making contact with Tiago Dias. I know there’s a few clubs interested in him but hopefully our working relationship and friendship will be the difference in getting him to come here. I know what he can do on the pitch and he changed games for me in Plock, not only that he’s got a lot of upside.



1 thing that I noticed when I took over, the club finished 5th last year but there are 33 players on the books here, and that’s not including players out on loan. But before trying to trim the squad down, I extend 2 players who are here on loan. First up young striker Bruno Borcic on loan from Dinamo. Definitely going to be key to our season I think. Second is versatile wide man Fernando Lewis on loan from VVV in Holland. Fans think he will be a rotation player, but I intend to use him as a first teamer. First permanent signing is in the form of center half Amir Rrahmni and someone who will go straight into the starting line up.







After these were confirmed we got confirmation that Tiago Dias would be singing for us! I am absolutely delighted with this and to complement him the previous manager made 2 deals before he went off to Dinamo. Striker Borna Miklic and full back Ante Ivic both look good and I’ll be expecting big things from both of them



The squad overhaul is now in full swing as we sign Iraqi play maker Humam Tariq on a free transfer and this is a player I am confident will produce some good performances for us this season.



With those deals sorted pre season odds say we’re looking at another 5th place finish. I think as this team finished 5th last year a higher placed finish has to be the aim.



Young full back and new signing Ante Ivic has agreed to go out on loan to Rijeka. A good move I think as I’d rather concentrate on the league and using established players then trying to get young players some game time. His pace will be a valuable asset but I don't think I'll be able to give him much game time this season.





In my first meeting with the team to introduce myself, I told the team I’m looking for a good finish towards the Europa league places. That went down like a lead balloon as everyone in the team disagreed with me, apart form Tiago Dias of course. I’ve been here 5 minutes and it looks like I may have lost the dressing room already, not the start I had in mind. After that center half Denis Kollinger hands in a transfer request after a private chat with me. I’m not too fussed as the squad is huge and although he’s a good player I’m happy I can get around this.



We’ve got pre season out of the way and I’m settling on a 442 at home with a 4-4-1-1 in away games going into the season. I’m confident of achieving success this year. Here’s the team I’m using from the start

Goalkeeper Niklas Lomb


Right back Leandro Marin


Center halves Toni Datkovic & Amir Rrahmani



Left back Fernando Lewis


Right midfield Tiago Dias


Central midfielders Kristijan Jakic & Bojan Knezevic




Left midfield Manfred Osei-Kwadwo


Strikers Borna Miklic & Bruno Borcic




Subs bench consists of GK Filip Vasilj, left back Dorjan Francekovic, center half Igor Bubnjic, attacking midfielder Humam Tariq, midfielder Diego Poyet, wide midfielder Almedin Ziljkic and forward Matej Vuk who is also on loan from Dinamo.


This won’t be my set in stone starting 11. I intend to get Tariq in most games as I tihnk he can be key for us. Same with Poyet, I intend to try and get him in the team as often as possible. This 11 is just how I’m setting up in our first game of the season at home to Slaven Belupo.

So here we are, my first game in Croatia. Lokomotiva Zagreb targeted me as their number one choice to take this club and hopefully go and win something, to show that there’s more than just Dinamo in Zagreb. It’s on my to show what I can do and I’ve been given free reign so far. It’s time to stamp my mark on this team and take Croatia by storm, hopefully.

Good luck in Croatia!

Lokomotiva Zagreb 2023 - 2024 season update

Zagreb. Croatia. An incredible city, really it is. The footballing side of this great city is dominated by Dinamo Zagreb with great players such as Mario Mandzukic, Luka Modric and Vedrun Corluka to name but a few to have played for the famous club. There is another team here in Zagreb, well a few actually but only 1 that I am focussed on, and that is Lokomotiva Zagreb. This is a club just waiting to become something big. There’s an empty trophy cabinet just dying to be filled, and it is my mission, my goal to at least get 1 trophy in there before my time here is done. I’ve never really been in a position to win something at my previous 2 clubs however that changes now. This is hopefully the start of something good.

Uvijek vjeruj. Bez straha. Vrijeme je sada.

We set up with my favoured 442 approach. If we’re going to do well this year I want the team to know that we’ll play how I want to and that the buck stops with me, if we fail it’s on me.



We’re definitely the stronger team at the start of the game. In the 8th Knezevic is deep and finds Osei-Kwadwo out wide on the left with a good pass



He drives to the by-line and pulls the ball back across goal



Borcic is there to bury the ball home, 1-0!!







Literally from the kick off we get a corner which is swung in by Knezevic



It’s headed clear but falls to the feet of Miklic



Who hits it on the volley but the keeper makes an excellent stop. Nothing comes from the resulting corner







Deep into the first half center half Bubnjic has the ball in our full back position



He finds Tiago Dias on the right



He drives forward and plays a lovely ball over the top which finds Borcic running onto it



He takes 1 touch before hitting the ball past the keeper, 2-0!







Late in the game now and it’s 1 we’ve controlled from the start. We get a throw in deep in their half which is taken by Marin



It finds Dias who is fouled from behind



The ref can’t decide if it was in the box or not. After reviewing it with the VAR ref he awards the penalty! Up steps Borcic who is on a hat trick



After a short run up he places the ball to the keepers left and it’s game over, 3-0!







A great all round performance from my new team and if this game is anything to go by then I’m certain we’re in for a good season!






Next update will be how we got in August, any more transfers in or out and any other business. Thanks for reading!

Cheers man, am looking forward to seeing how I do here!

Great start to the new stint man!

It's always nice to win your first game. Hopefully continue with some more good performances.

Lokomotiva Zagreb 2023 - 2024 season update

First up in August we were away to HNK Gorica and put in a great performance, running out 2-0 winners with Dias getting a goal to mark a good day all around.



We followed that win up with a hard fought home win over Inter Zapresic the only goal coming early on, despite our dominating the game we still only managed the 1 goal.



Next up was a big game against this clubs long time rivals, and big boys in Croatia Hadjuk Split. The main thing I wanted from this game was a good performance as Hadjuk are pretty much the measuring stick on Croatia. Not only that but it’s my 200th game as a manager.



We set up as we have the last 3 games and it was a pretty even game. They took the lead in the 19th in my opinion against the run of play. We pushed forward from the kick off just to get caught on the counter and go 2 down. Half time came and we went on the attack straight away and managed to pull 1 back early on but it just wasn’t meant to be as they went and scored a third to kill the game off. Whilst Hadjuk are a big club I would’ve liked to see more from the team. We go again.



This is where things get stupid. Ridiculous really.


Transfer deadline day now and after that shambles I want another defensive player, step up Lukas Duriska. He can’t be any worse than whats already here.



Also Bojan Knezevic wanted to leave as Austrian team LASK were interested, yeah see ya and good riddance.



To replace Knezevic we signed Manuel Prietl and hopefully he can improve our side.







Sort of big transfer news now as I hadn’t noticed but Dinamo had quietly signed Karim Benzema, you know THAT Benzema. Big move for them and I can see why he’s gone there, they’re expected to win the league again and I doubt Strasbourg were in a position to win anything in France, still he’s a definite threat even at 35.





Moving on with next month we have to sort this out, okay it's only 1 loss but the manner of it, the whole performance just everything about it makes me sick. I was literally on the verge of losing my job at Plock no less than 4 times and none of the losses were anything like this. Time to step up or step back.

9-1!?

What on earth happened! It was a good month bar that pumelling!

Mate, god knows. Literally dunno what happened, every time they got the ball it ended up in the back of the net. I'm still annoyed now!

Lokomotiva Zagreb 2023 - 2024 season update

The day after the night before. Did that really happen, I mean did I get beat 9-1 away? I’m not at Wigan away to Spurs in 2009, it’s the stuff of nightmares. It’s time to stop feeling sorry for myself and get back out there and smash our next opponents whoever they are…..oh Christ it’s Dinamo away next, well as good a time as any to show Croatia just what we’re made of.



So after making 10 changes from that shit show last week I was forced into not 1 but 2 substituiuons in the first 5 minutes as Borcic and Vuk both suffered twisted ankles, twisted bloody ankles?!? Oh well not to worry as Bubnjic scored an own goal from a corner to make things worse for us as we never really looked like doing much. We did manage to hold on right uptil the 90th minute when they scored another from a counter. Well if I didn’t the backing of the players last week, then this week shows just how much they think of me





We’ve got to get back on track now, no more pratting around. After a team meeting where 2 players agreed with what I had to say we decimated Sibenik 3-0 and didn’t let them get 1 shot off all game! This is what I’m talking about, why can’t we play like this every week!





Can we continue the form next up away to Osijek?



Croatia cup now and we simply out played lower league opposition Dugopojle to progress to the next round



Back in the league and another thoroughly deserved victory came over Varazdin to take us unbelievably to the top of the league!









First game in October saw us overcome Slaven 3-0 to keep us at the top of the league.



The draw for the next round of the cup was made…..



Another league game and another win, this time over Gorica. Borcic grabbing a brace to continue his and our good form



Last game in October sees us topple Inter Zapresic 2-0. We’re looking really good and that 9-1 defeat is looking like a distant memory.





So after getting smashed by Rejika and losing the follow up game to Dianmo, we’ve gone on a great run and I genuinely think we look unbeatable at present. That absolute battering was the kick up the arse we needed and we've not looked back. We do have the chance to get revenge in the cup but it could go so very wrong against Rejika again.

Next update will be Novembers games and how we got on.

Thanks for reading, it is much appreciated.

Lokomotiva Zagreb 2023 - 2024 season update

After that unbeaten October I am awarded the manager of the month award, which if I do say so myself is very much deserved!



No it’s time for the cup game against Rijeka, the team that put 9 passed us only 2 months ago. Am I nervous, yes. Am I confident, based on current form yes I am. Am I worried of a repeat? Of course I am but today is a new day and we go in to the game with an open mid.



League action now as we battled to a very credible 1 all draw away at fierce rivals Hadjuk. This draw is especially notable as we were down to 10 men around the half hour mark as center half Durisk got booked then went in with 2 feet literally a minute later to get his second yellow. We were 1 down at that point but managed to grab the equaliser before half time. I thought it might be backs against the wall stuff but much of the second half we kept possession well and could’ve won it as we had a great chance late on but their keeper made the stop.



Another game against Rejika and another game I thought could go bad for us, however it was our day as we recorded back to back victories over them to definitely put that 9-1 drubbing behind us. Again we battled right up until the last moments of the game as we scored in the 96th minute (again!) to secure a vital win! We are looking good.



During the Rejika game Tiago Dias pulled up tearing his hamstring and will be out for a few weeks. We’ve got cover out wide but he’s been my main guy and the only player supporting me up until now.



The cup draw was made and we’re at home to Osijek in the quarter final. A game I'm confident we can win.



This is possibly the best result for us so far. We took on Dinamo at home and bossed this game. It’s good in 1 sense as their manager left Lokomotiva to take over there and we put 1 over him, it’s good in another sense as this shows we can definitely hang with the top teams in Dinamo & Hadjuk which gives me confidence going forward.



That brings November to an unbeaten end, things are looking good for the ‘other’ team in Zagreb. I’m quietly confident now of progressing even further in the cup as well as keeping our team at the top end of the league.



Thanks for reading!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Career progress:
2018 - 19 | ARC Oleiros (Portugal) -- Finished 1st in Campeonato de Portugal, won the playoffs, promoted.
2019 - 20 | ARC Oleiros (Portugal) -- Finished 10th in Liga Pro, the clubs highest ever finish
2020 - 21 | ARC Oleiros (Portugal) -- Finished 11th in Liga Pro, resigned at end of season
2021 - 22 | Wisla Plock (Poland) -- Finished 1st in Division 1, champions, promoted
2022 - 23 | Wisla Plock (Poland) -- Finished 12th in Ekstraklaka. Nearly sacked a few times
2023 - 24 | Lokomotiva Zagreb (Croatia) -- in progress

Another very good month there,things have clicked very quickly in Croatia,

Yeah it sure has man, hopefully we can keep this form up and not get spanked again.

Echoing Dan's thoughts: 9-1?? I can hardly talk, back on FM15 I conceded six goals in back-to-back seasons at Anfield as Man United boss...

At least you have had a very good response, helps make the memory of Rijeka slowly disappear - especially with the cup redemption.

That is crazy to think of a 9-1 result compared to the other results that you have got. So quick send that record in for the biggest defeat on this site

That's a cracking run of form after that mad result. Good to see you've been able to turn it around so well!

I know right! I actually couldn't believe what I was watching. And 1 step ahead of you I already did upload it!



Yeah sure is man, think that result must've done something to the squads mentality, I have changed a lot around though. We're looking good.



Whoa that's bad man. But we've forgot all about that drubbing now, hopefully.

Congrats on taking the next step, though I’m sure the 9-1 wasn’t in your plans! absolutely flying in the league mate, keep it up and the trophy cabinet will be full in no time!

Cheers mate! I checked again and a 9-1 away drubbing definitely isn't / wasn't on my to do list in Croatia. Still since then we've never looked back!

Lokomotiva Zagreb 2023 - 2024 season update

Only a short update this time as we kick off our final 3 games before the winter break with a home tie against Sibenik, who after a poor run of form sacked their manager, no better time to play them really.

With a good, if unremarkable performance we ran out 2-1 winner but it could’ve been 2-2 as they had a couple of half chances late in the game. Still a win is a win and we move on.




Back to back home victories as we beat Osijek 2-0 to put us into the semi final of the cup. Late goals seem to be our thing as we had a 1 goal advantage going into the last few minutes and managed to score another in the 89th.





Final game before the break and we took on Varazdin and saw another victory 2-1. We got an early penalty that we converted and got another just before half time. They got back in to the game late on but we held on for another victory.



Tariq got injured in this game but it won’t matter too much as we’re away for the winter break now until February so he’ll be healed up and ready to go then.



So the break is here and we’re looking good. Top of the league, in the semi’s of the cup and the board are happy with me. I will not allow any complacency to creep in as at the minute this seems too good to be true, we’re playing well, Hadjuk and Dinamo are losing so really, dare I say it, the league is ours to lose at this point with us currently 8 points clear of second who admittedly have 2 games in hand.













Manager of the month as well which is always well received



However these last 3 games has seen us dominate shots and possession but just don’t seem to have that cutting edge. I go back to that 9-1 game, we dominated shots and possession, they had 10 shots on target, 9 of which went in. I don’t want to get in another striker, that’s not the issues I just think we may get caught out eventually by not taking our many chances. Still we’re top of the league and looking good.

Next update will be the games after the break, if anything happened in the transfer window and any other business. Thanks for reading, it is appreciated!

Lokomotiva Zagreb 2023 - 2024 season update

So the winter break is over and we’re finally back to league action and first up were Osijek at home. A game we more or less were in control of despite only managing to put 1 goal away. A good 3 points to start us off after the break.



We managed back to back victories now as we beat Slaen Belupo 3-0 to keep us at the top of the league.



After those 2 victories we recorded 2 draws against Gorica in a pretty drab game and Rejika in another poor performance. Although we didn’t lose I feel both games were 2 points dropped.





The draw for the cup sees us matched against Sibenik in the semi final. A game I feel we should be winning.



Penultimate game in February saw us beat Inter Zapresic 2-0 to continue our decent form and keep us top of the league. A good result going into our next game against rivals Hadjuk



Big game next against our main rivals Hadjuk and this was a fairly even game at the half way point. They did get a man sent off just before half time, could we make the extra mana count?




That’s it for February as we’re still top of the league by 7 points however Hadjuk have a game in hand. Undefeated all month is definitely a good sign moving into the final third of the season.






To continue our good form we managed to beat Dinamo by a very impressive 3-0 scoreline. The stats suggest an even game however we dominated this from start to finish and they just didn’t have an answer for us.



Semi final of the cup next and at half time Dinamo are losing to second division team Istra whilst we are winning 2-0. If the scores stay the same I will be very happy and confident playing Istra in the cup final.



Whilst we went on to the game, Dinamo not only equalised but got a late winner to send them into yet another cup final.









Next up was a game that was so frustrating for us. We ended up losing 4-3 home to Varazdin. We just didn’t seem to want to defend in this game and it showed. Not only that but this is our first loss in 18 games! Dias also got injured to round off a pretty bad day for us.







The bad performances continued with a shoddy 2-0 away loss to Sibenik to round out March. A pretty so so month really, 2 wins 2 losses. Hopefully we can bounce back from this and get back on track.





Next update will be the final 2 months of the league as well as our big cup final against Dinamo. Thanks for reading!

Lokomotiva Zagreb 2023 - 2024 season update

April starts as March finished with a loss, this one to Osijek 3-0. Terrible game and a terrible performance. Hadjuk also closed the gap to 1 point now with a very big win.





Not that bad a result really as we managed a 1 all draw away to Slaven Belupo.



Back to poor results as we saw a loss to Inter Zapresic next. Another poor display, I just don’t know what’s got into the team as we’re not looking good at all





Hadjuk win their game in hand to overtake us at the top of the league just to rub it in a bit more



Once again another poor showing as we lost 2-1 at home to Gorica. Going to be hard picking the team up from this poor form, definitely do not look like title contenders at the minute





This again. Right then I’ll change the formation just to get the fans off my back, it can’t get any worse can it?



Get in! Absolutely buzzing at this. Where has this performance been! 6-0 and it flattered Rejika really. Okore got 2 absolutley sublime assists from free kicks and this was just an all around epic game for us!





That win, along with Dinamos victory of Hadjuk puts us back top with 5 games to go. Can we do it, can we achieve the unlikely feat of winning the league in my first season in Croatia?





Well, maybe. Last game in April and we ended up throwing it away with a poor 1-0 loss to big rivals Hadjuk to open up the door for them.







First game in May sees us take on our cup final opponents Dinamo in the league. To say they are the big team here we’ve beat them on the last 3 times now and this game is hopefully a sign of things to come as we run out 2-0 winners. They were never in this game at all.





Another victory to put us in good form going into the cup final as we beat Sibenik 2-1. A good all around performance for us an with that win sees us guaranteed a top 3 finish.







Here we are, my first cup final and this clubs second. A win here would be monumental but for us just to get here is a good showing. I tell the team not let the pressure get to them and to play their natural game.





First half is pretty even. We dominated shots but couldn’t convert any of those.



Second half and we had a man sent off early on so had to rejig the set up. We went defensive and somehow, remarkably got a goal on the counter! We set up to press and hold the ball and we did it, just about! Cup winners!











2 games in the league to go next as we ran out 2-0 winners away to Varazdin where Hadjuk smashed Osijek 7-1 to send them to the top of the league going into the final game.



It all comes down the this, the last game of the season, if we win and Hadjuk don’t we’re champs!

How did it go…


It is disappointing to not win the league after being at the top for so long, however we weren’t ever expected to finish this high anyway, not to mention the cup victory definitely makes not winning the league a little less of a blow. A good 3rd place finish is very good I think. There is definitely some potential here and who knows, next season we might just take that extra step and go on to be champions!

Next update will be end of season stuff and a look at next season. Thanks for reading.

Challenge progress:

Become favoured personnel at 3 clubs ARC Oleiros, Wisla Plock & Lokomotiva Zagreb

Well done on winning the cup there.

Well done on the cup and getting favoured personnel x3! Unlucky in the league, some crazy scorelines around the grounds. Hopefully you can go one better next season!

Well done on the cup success mate, really feel like that league was in your hands too! oh well, go again next season!

Gutted for you to lose out on the league so close to the finish, but I guess the cup win helps ease that a bit, congrats man!

Really solid season there mate, unfortunate to lose the league title on the last day but hopefully that'll spur your players to make amends next season and win the league! Well done on the cup win also, brilliant work!

Cheers man, hopefully the new season we can take that extra step.



Same mate, the cup win softens the blow enough. Still a good season really.



Cheers mate, I thought the league was ours too, ahh well it's just not meant to be this season.



All 3 clubs like me, for now! I genuniley thought we'd go on to win the league but a few bad performances decided otherwise. Hopefully we can take that next step next season.



Cheers mate!