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Partizan Belgrade football club are in the final stages of their pre-season preparations, while the Champions League 2nd qualifying round game against Rhyl FC on 14 July will show the full potential of the team this season.

On paper, Partizan should be an improved side comparing to the previous season, after acquiring striker Cleo and experienced defender Mladen Krstajic. The reigning Serbian champions’ left-back Ivan Obradovic has still not left the club, while all the released players do not disrupt the concept of the team that coach Slavisa Jokanovic has been building for two years. The Wales champions will obviously not be a reliable indication of Partizan’s current strength, but will certainly determine the first step of the Belgrade side in the 2009-10 sesaon.

Partizan boss Slavisa Jokanovic is not entirely content with the test match 2-1 win over Rabotnicki.

- “I spotted some errors, and there’s very little time before the first competitive game of the season. The errors, however, are not too worrying and I’m sure that we’ll be fully ready by Tuesday. People are looking forward to seeing how the new Partizan team perform. The club and the fans are entering this season with the highest possible ambitions and I hope we start realizing them during the summer,” Jokanovic said, referring to the July Champions League qualifiers against Rhyl FC.

The Partizan boss went on to say:

- “In order to be fully ready for the big competition, we need to be faster, more secure, more intelligent in our passing selection, in finishing and when defending. A slow-paced waiting game is unlikely to produce positive results for us. It is a fact so far that our performances are up-tempo and we are more precise in passing. I concluded this from our performance in the friendly game against Rabotnicki.”

Partizan defender Mladen Krstajic says things will fall into place by Tuesday and the first-leg match at Rhyl.

- “The fans probably expected more from the first test match ahead of our trip to Wales, but by now we’ve grown a little tired of the gruelling preparations. We have prepared well overall for the first game against Rhyl and it’s important that we have no players out through injury. Regardless of the results the team have showed they have immense desire to take on new challenges. The European matches at the start of the season will show the outlook of this new team, while we’ll prove we are ready and that we have the strength and the quality to qualify for the Champions League,” said Krstajic.

Partizan take on Rhyl FC in Wales, in the first leg of the Champions League 2nd qualifying round, on 14 July. The return leg is played in Belgrade, on 21 July at 20.45 CET at Partizan Stadium.