Israeli legend Ronnie Rosenthal believes the pressure Vladimir Ivić thrived under at giants Maccabi Tel Aviv will stand him in good stead for life in the Championship as Head Coach of Watford.
The Hornets are tipped to bounce back to the Premier League at the first attempt and the club have tasked Ivić, the 45-year-old Serbian, with the job of choreographing their tilt at securing one of the three promotion spots available.
The assignment at Vicarage Road is Ivić's first in England, but he's already transferred his skillset to two clubs outside of his homeland, PAOK in Greece and Maccabi Tel Aviv, winning silverware in each of his first seasons and doing it back-to-back in Israel where expectations were sky high.
“There will be pressure on him, but he had pressure in Israel as Maccabi Tel Aviv is a very big club and they had the highest budget,” said the Haifa-born Rosenthal, who was part of the Hornets side that won successive promotions in the late 90s.
“They are probably the biggest club along with Maccabi Haifa and Jerusalem. Everybody expects them to win the league, so he knows he has to deliver and he did it back-to-back.
“I am sure everybody expects him to bring Watford back to the Premier League because they deserve to go back and are a good club with an owner who has done a great job.”
Rosenthal spent seven years playing in Israel and finished his decorated career, which peaked with spells at Liverpool and Tottenham, in the Championship with the Hornets. So, he is well placed to assess the similarities between the leagues and the acclimatisation Ivić will have to make.
“In England it's a different league, it's more athletic,” said Rosenthal.
“There are no guarantees to go back up and it's so tough. You need to perform as you can be the best on paper but sometimes you are not there [in the promotion places] because of other things.
“He knows he has to deliver and he has done it before. It's a huge task and I hope he does the business. It will be nice to see."
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Rosenthal played under Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness, Gerry Francis and Graham Taylor so knows a thing or two about managerial styles when it comes to assessing Ivić's make-up.
“He is very organised, intelligent and disciplined,” said Rosenthal, 56. “Everyone loved him at Maccabi Tel Aviv, the players, the fans, so yes, he's definitely got a positive vibe around him.
“Maccabi Tel Aviv played nice football, very attractive and positive, attacking football and everyone around the club was happy. The club was functioning good as they won the league back-to-back so he did a good job.”
