Sinisa Mihajlovic explained how he turned Bologna’s season around and left the door open to remain next season. “I just tried to pass on my mentality.”

The transformation since he took over from Pippo Inzaghi has been remarkable, winning 30 points in 17 rounds compared to 14 points from the opening 21 games.

This evening's 3-2 against Napoli was their seventh consecutive Serie A home victory, scoring at least two goals each time, a new club record.

Sinisa Mihajlovic explained how he turned Bologna’s season around and left the door open to remain next season. “I just tried to pass on my mentality.”

The transformation since he took over from Pippo Inzaghi has been remarkable, winning 30 points in 17 rounds compared to 14 points from the opening 21 games.

This evening's 3-2 against Napoli was their seventh consecutive Serie A home victory, scoring at least two goals each time, a new club record.

“Taking on a team at the end of January with one and a half feet in Serie B and securing safety with a round to spare, then winning the seventh consecutive home game against Napoli to reach 10th place – hoping Atalanta and Milan do what they need to do tomorrow…” Miha told Sky Sport Italia.

“If safety was half a miracle, then what we’ve done now is a masterpiece. The lads deserve all the credit, they were fortunate to get some early results in my tenure that boosted their self-confidence and we kept growing from there.

“I just told them my mentality, which was play to win not to avoid defeat, always attack, show courage and keep your heads up. That opening victory over Inter helped a great deal and the lads always showed their desire to make up for the first half of the season, as they were suffering with those results.

“They became a team, started to talk to each other more on the pitch, help each other out and work as a unit. That was the most pleasing part of it.

“The fitness levels weren’t the issue so much as the lack of intensity, at least for the way I see football. We stepped up the training regime and that caused a few injuries in the first few weeks, but after a while it was no coincidence that we scored so many goals in the second half, as we kept going.

“Pippo had trained them well, they were fit, but I just stepped up the intensity.”

The fans at the Stadio Dall’Ara gave Mihajlovic a standing ovation when he came out for the start of the game, but he is keeping tight-lipped on his future.

“A Coach is certainly enormously pleased when the crowd chants his name, but he also knows everything is tied to results and it takes two defeats to transform everything. I am not kidding myself.

“I was given a warm welcome here, I felt in debt with Bologna from 10 years ago and I think that debt has been repaid. I’ll sit down with the club to discuss various things, it won’t be sorted out in one day.

“I didn’t want to talk about it before the season had come to a close, because I wanted everyone focused on these games. Now we can talk with clear heads and look back at everything calmly.”

Why did Mihajlovic not go with the team to salute the fans at the final whistle?

“Even when I won trophies, I wouldn’t go in front of the fans. It’s only right that the players take the credit. I just tell them my ideas of football, how I’d like them to play and they do the rest.

“I went straight into the dressing room and hid in the toilet, but they still found me and poured about two litres of champagne over my head.”

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