Libreville - Milutin Sredojevic used almost every word he knew in the English language to prove his loyalty to Uganda. But he still didn’t say much about his future amid speculations he could leave the post after the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).
Before this tournament it looked like Sredojevic’s departure would be his decision as he was linked with the Bafana Bafana, Orlando Pirates, even a Ghana coaching job after he helped the Cranes qualify for the Afcon for the first time in 39 years.
But after the Cranes crashed out of the group stages with a game to spare, there were suddenly talks about how his mandate was to reach the last eight. Despite those talks, the players and even Uganda’s football association have gone on record to say they would welcome the Serbian staying on.
“I have a contract with Uganda until 2018,” Sredojevic said. “I am fully committed, dedicated, loyal and I have been giving 200% to this team. I can’t speak much about my future now. I still have the bitter taste of being disappointed we got knocked out. Uganda doesn’t deserve to be out, especially in this fashion.
“If someone beats you convincingly, you put up yours hand, admit defeat and keep quiet. But losing because of lapses of concentration (against Ghana and Egypt), hurts. These are the school fees we need to pay to be among the best in Africa.”
If “Micho” stays, his biggest drive will be to take the Cranes to the World Cup for the first time in the country’s history.
Their participation here has prepared them well for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. The Cranes are in the same group as Ghana and Egypt along with Congo. Uganda sit in second place with four points, two points behind Egypt; three points ahead of the Black Stars.
“We have shown we have what it takes to qualify for the World Cup,” Sredojevic said. “You must keep in mind in the three games that we have to play - against Egypt and Ghana - two are in Kampala. I can tell you that we aren’t pushovers there. We have high ambitions.
“We can hold our own against any team on the continent; we held Ghana and Egypt for long spells. Our next step is to play for 90 minutes tomake our supporters happy.”
Uganda left Port-Gentil for Oyem to face Mali there in their last Group D match. The Eagles still stand a chance of making it to the quarter-finals, unlike the Cranes who are already out. The Cranes held their own against teams that have won this competition a combined 11 times. It took a last minute goal from Abdallah El-Said to knock Uganda out of the tournament after they had held seven-time African champions, Egypt, for 89 minutes. A mistake by Isaac Isinde cost Uganda in their 1-0 loss to Ghana.
“We are a proud team,” Sredojevic said.
“Every match we have played here has felt like we’re in the Africa Cup of Nations final. “We want a win (against Mali), nothing else. I can assure supporters we will go into that match with the aim of getting something so that we can go home with something of which to to be proud.”