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Maccabi Tel Aviv Head Coach Slavisa Jokanovic spoke to the media prior to the club's upcoming UEFA Champions League second round qualifying match against Maltese Champions Hibernians FC

What was your impression of Austria training camp?

"We worked very hard during the last 3 weeks and I believe that we all did a great job. I had the chance to analyze and check out the players that I had at the camp and during the three preseason matches. The training camp is short and we did what we needed to do to be ready. As the new guy in town I had to learn what I had in hand and then see how we could improve."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWUKHMRX_Jg

How do you feel about the upcoming match against Hibernians FC in Malta and what is the status of Eran Zahavi?

 "In theory we are the favorites but we have to show our best on the field of play. You may be surprised as to what you will see as this will be the first official game. I believe we are ready for this match and of course I understand that Maccabi has great ambitions in Europe for this coming season. We are still not 100% sure if Eran Zahavi will play or not, as he still has some small muscle problems and we don't want to take a risk playing him. Zahavi will probably start from the bench and I will keep the option open to play him later in the match should we need him. He should be fully fit in the near future."

Many Israeli teams that have brought in new players, however Maccabi has only brought in one and released Mahran Radi.

"What we brought in so far is not enough and when I arrived we spoke about 3 positions to upgrade, however the Israeli market is small. I checked out a number Israeli players and the club has my opinion on what I think about them. We will need to sign players soon because right now we are a small squad. I understood the situation to release Radi as we want to improve and needed to find something more guaranteed in that position. But like in every club, some players come in and some go out.

 We will need to take some serious steps in the next two weeks to upgrade. We know what we needed already a few weeks ago and it would be better if we had these players already in training camp. We have a serious situation in front of us, but we will deal with it over the next few matches."

 What type of formation will Maccabi play this season?

 "I would love to play like Barcelona, but we are still not there yet. We have a lot of players that can adapt to various different structures on the pitch. All four of the players at right back will have a good opportunity to play this year. I will choose the best option for the game at hand, but all of the players will have a chance to play."

What do you think of the level of Israeli players?

 "Maccabi Tel Aviv is a very important club in Israel. We have to look at the domestic league here in Israel and not try to compare us to other leagues like the Championship or the Premier League. The players are very fast in Israel, however they need to learn how to play more compact."