A chat with Macky Bagnack

25-year old centre-back Macky Bagnack arrived to Partizan from Olimpija Ljubljana one month ago, joining late stages of Partizan pre-season Zlatibor camp. As a result, he missed first two games of the season but his commanding presence in a three league encounters that followed helped Partizan achieve three clean sheets in a row.

Macky, you are for a month now. How do you feel?

-Really good! I had a really warm welcome from the fans who wrote to me even before my arrival and they still do. My new teammates greeted me in a great fashion too and that matters so much as well.

Partizan didn`t look good in the opening two games of the season, losing to Novi Pazar in a Gameweek 2. How did you cope with it as a newcomer?

-I always like to say – the end of a matter is better than the beginning. We had a bad start but thank God we look much better now and that`s what matters. We cannot change what happened then, it stays in the past, now we need to be focused on this moment. How did I feel? Well, same as my teammates. I was angry and ashamed. I wanted to help my team there and then as I prefer to suffer and fight to the last drop of blood rather than sitting comfortably on a sofa watching my team play.

So far, it`s you and Uros Vitas at the back. Anyone else in particular you like to play with in the backline?

I think Vitas and myself complement each other well. We help each other a lot and it`s also important we talk a lot, not only during the games but before it. Anyone in particular I like to play with? It`s all about Partizan! To me, it doesn`t matter who`s on the field, we are a team and we score and win as a team.

In your opinion, what`s the best Partizan  quality?

-We have good players who love to play football to start with. I find the greatest quality in our players who can make the difference at any given moment. That really matters.

Pitch surfaces around Serbia differ and sometimes it`s hard to play away from home. How do you adapt to it?

-Don`t worry, I noticed it all (laughs). However, we need to be realistic and expect such things when we are away. We really have to try and play our best game, to adapt to situation and always win three points from it!

How`s your brother doing?

-He`s alright, still a free player. He trains and takes care of me!

How do you like Belgrade?

-I like it very much. Nice city with lovely places to walk around, go out, lots of fine restaurants. It really allows you lots of options to enjoy with your family and friends.

You played against Partizan EL round 1 opponents RFS last season. Can you tell us what we should pay attention to regarding this tie?

-Each game is different. They changed their team lot, signed many new players but I really don`t like to talk about any opponent. I always try to be better tomorrow compared to today. I believe they will choose to counter-attack us rather than play attacking game.

Can Partizan win the title?

Everything is possible for one who believes! (Mark 9:23)