This year’s position on the standings is significantly different from where it was at the end of last year. How would you evaluate the team’s progress in 2024?
Clearly we have made significant progress, even with a young squad and facing some difficulties we came through this period and established ourselves amongst the top teams in the league. We started very well, and we have to accept that such a young team was not accustomed to it. After the draws against Brinje, Rudar and a tough defeat against Triglav, the team responded incredibly well with tough away wins at Slovan and Drava and then Drava again in the cup. The young team already showed they are learning and maturing very quickly. We knew our competitors would drop points, but we had to win to apply the pressure. This will give us good experience for the second part of the season and with some more new players coming in, I believe we will be even stronger. We are in the top 3 at the halfway stage and now the players have the belief that we can challenge for promotion.
Several new players joined the squad before the start of the season. Is there anyone who has positively surprised you with their performances or progress?
It’s difficult for me to single out any one player. We added players that had played at a high level - Bafounta, Buss, Bandeira, Briski. So the expectation of them is always a bit higher. Petkov and Todorov have shown exceptional form. Rashid took time to adapt to European football but has been excellent this season. Federico was a surprise and has contributed with goals and assists. Considering that for many this is their first season in senior football, it’s been a proud period for me to see them rise to the level. Aščić Pijaža, Vodeb and Štefanec have been excellent Slovenian acquisitions for us. Our captain Žiga always leads by example. In addition, we have some incredible kids in our squad; Samuel Mbengue the goalkeeper, Ross Ukmar and Noah Fernetti have assimilated into the first team without any apprehension at all.
What can we expect in the remainder of the season? What are the priorities and goals?
The goal is clear. We want to go back to the first league. We want to develop our young players. But promotion to the first league is the immediate aim. We also have the cup game against Celje ahead; a great opportunity for our boys to test themselves against the champions of Slovenia without any pressure.
Would you like to share any messages with the fans, sponsors, and supporters?
I want to thank our fans, sponsors and supporters for standing by us through a tough period. We are becoming a little bit more global because of some of the players we recruited and also because of some investment and fan engagement around the world, but the heartbeat of our support will always remain in Sezana. I’ve been fortunate to meet many people in Sezana in recent months and I’m grateful for their recognition of the upturn in form and for being so positive in their support. It’s understandable that they were sceptical about the direction the club would go in and I always insisted to them that our actions would speak louder than words. I’m proud of the history of this Club. Above all, I’m thankful to the players and the staff. We have been incredibly united this season and I believe we have an outstanding group of people. We are all one, brother for brother.
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