No cannon-fodder for coach Katanec

Slovenia will be hoping to upset teams such as France

The latest odds for rank outsiders Slovenia to lift the Euro 2000 trophy are 150/1 - but after a thrilling play-off victory over a highly-rated Ukraine side, the minnows are looking to upset more big names this summer.

Slovenia are playing in their first ever European championship finals, but coach Srecko Katanec is convinced the role of the underdogs not only suits but strengthens his players.

"We don't want to be cannon-fodder," he said. "Many say we like to play the role of the underdogs. We thought it would be impossible to qualify but we managed it.

"That is now history and we must look ahead at our new challenges."

We have absolutely nothing to lose

Srecko Katanec

Katanec, at 37 the youngest coach among the European qualifying countries, is aware of the huge gap which separates his side from the other 15 finalists.

"Let's be realistic, in Slovenia we don't have 20 players who are able to play at such a high level," he said.

"We cannot be compared to a team like Spain whose reserve players are as good as those in the first team."

International squad

In the opening round of Euro 2000, Slovenia will meet Spain, Norway and Yugoslavia in Group C.

Katanec recognises the relatively poor level of Slovenia's league and the troubles he faces when naming an international squad.

The coach is concerned that many of his top players are not regulars in their respective clubs and therefore have little big match experience.

"Some of our players rarely play or do not play at all for their clubs," he said. "I don't, however, think this is because they are not good."

Novak rarely plays for club

The country's top goalscorer Zlatko Zahovic is out of action for the rest of the season for swearing at his Olympiakos coach.

Red Star Belgrade's Milenko Acimovic, Maribor's Spasoje Bulajic and Freiburg's Miran Pavlin spend a lot of their club's matches on the bench and Dzoni Novak rarely even makes it onto the pitch.

Katanec, however, plans to nominate all of the players who helped Slovenia achieve qualification.

Realistic

Katanec fancies Spain for the trophy and despite immense pressure from home fans, he has remained realistic about Slovenia's chances.

"It is already a huge success for us to have qualified and we are all aware of that." he said.

"We are going to be playing against elite European players who we would normally only have a chance of watching on television.

"Our rivals are not unbeatable and I hope they underestimate us. Unlike them, we have absolutely nothing to lose."