SWANS: ‘I brought him along’ — Stamenic on recruiting Just and finding his love for the game again

When Elijah Just signed for Swansea City last month, he said conversations with Marko Stamenic had helped make up his mind.

His fellow New Zealand international is happy to take the credit.

“I’ve brought him along now, so it’s good to have another fellow New Zealander,” Stamenic told Swansea Bay News.

“I think he has similar traits as a person, so I think he slots right in. The boys love him. He’s a talented and great player and obviously a great guy.

“I’m really happy to have him here and I’m hoping the club is going to see what he brings.”

The pair were together at the World Cup this summer, where Just scored three goals in three games for the All Whites, and the midfielder believes his compatriot has already proved himself.

“He showed his qualities in the Scottish league. He had a great season with Motherwell. Obviously, at the World Cup, he scored three goals over three games,” Stamenic said.

“He showed his qualities on two big stages in the world, so I think he’s ready. He showed what he’s capable of in training, and now it’s just translating that into the games in the Championship.”

Just has already marked himself out in a Swansea shirt, scoring on his debut against Udinese in Austria before starting the opening day win at Stoke City.

A World Cup summer

New Zealand went out at the group stage, having led in each of their first two games.

“The World Cup was an amazing experience. Having my family there, friends there, my now-wife. It was amazing to see them all enjoy the experience as well,” Stamenic said.

“It was definitely challenging. Everybody has the same goals when you go to a World Cup. A lot of pressure, different environment, different temperatures.

“All of that plays into account, but we went in there with a mentality that we wanted to get out of the group. Unfortunately, we didn’t achieve that, but we learnt a lot.

“We were a new group, a young group. We played some good football, and we showed the world that New Zealand can compete at that level. The first two games, we went up in goals and unfortunately just couldn’t hold the lead.”

The club gave him three weeks off afterwards, and he joined the squad late in Austria.

“They gave me three weeks off holiday, so I had a lot of time to reflect on the World Cup firstly and then also just rest my body and also my mind,” he said.

“I came in a couple of weeks later than the rest of the boys to pre-season. I met them in Austria and I feel ready.”

‘I found my love again for the game’

The midfielder missed a spell of games last season following the death of his father, and he is candid about what the people around him at the club have meant since.

“It’s been a year of a lot of ups and downs. Probably more off the field for me on a personal note,” he said.

“But having the people around me in this club have really helped me cross that hurdle and find my love again for the game, and really get back to how I know I am as a player and a person. So full credit to the people around the club, and that’s why I love being here so much.”

After four years of moving clubs every summer, the 24-year-old is enjoying the novelty of staying put.

“For the last four years before coming here I was on the move every year, so it’s kind of nice to have some stability now, being familiar with the club, being able to help new players come in and adjust in the way that I had,” he said.

“The boys helped me when I first came, so I definitely feel like I’m more familiar and I feel like I’m ready to take the next step in my career with the Championship.

“I’m doing what I love, so I’m very grateful. Coming in every day to a club, to a family that I thoroughly enjoy and genuinely enjoy is a dream come true for me.”

‘One game at a time’

Sheffield United visit the Swansea.com Stadium on Saturday with the Swans looking to make it two wins from two.

“What’s important for us, and what we’ve talked about throughout this week in preparation for Sheffield United, is we take one game at a time. We don’t get too far ahead and we’re fully focused on Saturday’s game to go and win,” Stamenic said.

The win at Stoke, he says, was built in pre-season, and on lessons learned last year.

“It’s the perfect start to the season. It’s something we’ve been working towards all pre-season as well. We went in with the right mentality and we reaped the rewards,” he said.

“The back end of last year, we definitely improved our away performances. It was a big hurdle to cross last season with away games and playing away from home.

“There’s a new tempo, a new mentality that we’re trying to install into Swansea and our team as well when we go away from home.”

Much of that, he says, comes from a head coach who now has a full pre-season behind him.

“The more time that we spend with the gaffer, the better. He’s able to have a full pre-season with us now. He’s installed his ideas, he’s implemented new ideas, so it’s up to the players now to execute those ideas, and I think we did a pretty good job on our first game,” Stamenic said.

Kick-off at the Swansea.com Stadium is at 3pm on Saturday.