In-depth with Matija Sarkic – why he likes pressure of demanding Millwall fans, summer transfer drama and connection with Lions goalkeeping coach

BY RICHARD CAWLEY
richard@slpmedia.co.uk

Matija Sarkic is on the hunt for a new home, but the fact he made a permanent transfer to Millwall at the start of this month means he has one less move to weigh up.

The Lions signed the 26-year-old Montenegro international from Wolves for a seven-figure sum on August 3.

Sarkic signed a three-year contract extension with Wanderers in July 2022 but felt this summer was the right time for a new environment after loan spells with Shrewsbury Town, Birmingham and Stoke.

The big stopper describes the rental market in London as “crazy” and his base away from training, for the short term, is a hotel in Canary Wharf.

But he is locked in as a Millwall player and is once again working under goalkeeping coach Andy Marshall.

“I wanted to play games and be a number one,” Sarkic told the South London Press. “I’ve had quite a lot of loans and it reached a point I wanted to be somewhere and be the number one – have the focus on myself.

“For the past five years I’ve never spent more than six months anywhere. I went to Birmingham – got injured and had to go back to Wolves. I was at Shrewsbury before – played a few games and then had to go back. I never settled down anywhere. I wasn’t able to get stuck in and feel like I was a part of the team long term.

“I thought that was going to happen at Wolves, hence why I signed a long contract. I thought I would get in (the team) but for whatever reason it didn’t happen and I went on loan last season.

“I wanted somewhere to plant my roots and have that stability – not just at the club but away from football where I can settle and not be travelling left, right and centre. It’s important to get into a routine and build on that.”

Sarkic recorded his second shutout for the Lions in their 1-0 win over Stoke on Saturday, producing a late full-stretch save to his left to push away Andre Vidigal’s powerful shot.

Stoke had agreed a deal with Wolves in the middle of July for Sarkic. Instead they ended up signing Mark Travers, who had also attracted interest from Millwall as they looked to bolster their options in that department.

“Yes, there was interest with Stoke and I thought it was going to happen,” said Sarkic. “For one reason or another, not on my side, it didn’t happen. That’s football – it’s unpredictable. One second you think something is happening and then it’s not.

“I’m past that. My focus is here on Millwall. All the stuff on the side is forgotten about.

“The speculation is actually really stressful. You don’t know what is going on – one minute you think you are going here and the next minute you think you’re going there.

“Even though I’ve been through it quite a lot with loans, it is quite hard to block it out. You need to let your agent deal with that and if there is something concrete, then you go and speak to them. But you are always going to get people talking and rumours. If you listen to that too much it can take your focus away, you become mentally fatigued from it.

“You should focus on what you can control – your football.”

Sarkic’s settling in period in SE16 is aided by Marshall, the pair working together at Aston Villa and then Birmingham.

Marshall previously recommended Villa paid around £20,000 in compensation to sign Sarkic from Anderlecht in 2016.

He also kept 10 clean sheets in 24 matches at the Blues, Marshall making the move to the Midlands club after opting to quit Charlton and follow boss Lee Bowyer.

“Me and Marshy go a long way back,” said Sarkic. “He knows me better than I know myself, sometimes.

“It’s what I need at this moment in my career. I’ve had a few bumps with injuries, along with playing and then not playing.

“I know the detail that he goes into and that he will get the best out of me. It was a major factor in coming here – he will drive me and push me. He will fine-tune.

“We’ll go over everything, which is the way I like to work – to constantly strive to improve. It’s the type of mindset every professional athlete should look to have – not to be perfect, but to try and achieve perfection.”

Injuries have curtailed some of Sarkic’s finest moments.

He still won Supporters’ Player of the Year at Birmingham despite being out after January, dislocating his shoulder when throwing the ball.

Asked about spells on the sidelines, Sarkic said: “It’s tough to look back and think where would I have been? That’s in the past. It’s something I can’t control anymore.

“You wonder if you could have done something differently. But there is nothing you can do, apart from get on with it and look to improve in the areas you still can when you are out injured.

“I feel like I’m in a good place physically – the best I have been for a while. The medical team here and coaches have been really good with managing me because I didn’t have much of a pre-season, in terms of game time. Middlesbrough was my first match. I’m up to speed now and I’m only going to improve from here.”

The Den can be a sink-or-swim environment for home players just as much as it is for the opposition.

George Long’s travails between the posts for the Lions saw the fanbase turn. There looked no way back – hence a permanent transfer to Norwich not long after Sarkic arrived in SE16.

But the new number one is embracing the situation.

“The fans are really ambitious,” he said. “If it is not going your way then they are on you. If it going your way it is a great place to be.

“You have got to take it and use it.

“Their standards are high and they express themselves – you have got to use that energy. If it is not going well and they are expressing they are not happy or content then you have got to prove them wrong next game.

“I think it is good, to have that energy from the fans.

“I’d rather have that than fans, when we lose, who are upset but not voicing it. I’d rather have that pressure. It makes you want to do well. That is what Millwall is about. The fans are great.”

Sarkic based his decision to sign on talking to Marshall and a Zoom call with manager Gary Rowett and Alex Aldridge, director of football operations and recruitment.

“I’ve been in the Championship for a couple of years now, so I know what Millwall is about,” he said.

“My ambition and the club’s ambition is to go and play in the Premier League. That’s why I’m here.”