Defender Jovo Pavlovic says he could not have received a warmer welcome than that he’s experienced on joining Inglewood United. 25-year old Pavlovic has spent the past few weeks getting to know his new team mates after agreeing terms with the club for 2015. He is Inglewood’s third major signing in four weeks, following on from goalkeeper Aleks Vrteski and defender Rikki Smith.

“The club has been great, the welcome I’ve received at Inglewood could not have been better,” Pavlovic commented. “The players have been very friendly, I’m really looking forward to getting to know them and to work with (coaches) Michael Garcia and Victor Sikora … I’m excited at being part of Inglewood and the new challenges which lie ahead.”

The opportunity to join Inglewood came about through the club’s technical director Goran Stajic, who Pavlovic knew from his days at Balcatta. “Goran asked if I would be interested in joining Inglewood, he had already spoken to Michael and Victor and they were keen to get me to the club,” he explained. “The deal was sealed when I heard where Inglewood want to be and how they’re planning to get there.”

Pavlovic has seen enough in his first few weeks at the club to know they are serious about their football, and making a mark in 2015. “Inglewood has impressed me on a number of different levels,” he said. “The interest the club showed in me is what initially got my attention, and they’ve followed that through with a quality training set-up and a high level of professionalism.”

The recruitment of Pavlovic adds to the international flavour of Inglewood’s defence. The strongly built centre-back spent the last few years abroad, playing for FK Borac Banja Luka (Bosnia), Mitra Kukar (Indonesia) and South China (Hong Kong). The experience gleamed from those clubs position him well to partner Scott Blackmore and Aleks Vrteski in the heart of the Inglewood backline.

Given the calibre of that central defensive pairing, and the line-up in general, Pavlovic can see no reason why 2015 won’t be a success. “I’ll be setting out to be part of a solid backline and concede as few goals as I can,” he said of his personal goals for next season. “As a team we’ll be aiming to play attractive football – we have the players to do so – and make the top four.”