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Gelsenkirchen (dpa) - At least off the pitch, FC Schalke 04 are also offensive.
In several interviews, the new coach Dimitrios Grammozis has confirmed his plans to rebuild the Bundesliga club, which is threatened with relegation.
“I deliberately signed the one and a half year contract,” the 42-year-old told the “Bild” newspaper.
"Despite all the pressure, I am enjoying training in this great club."
In the 0-0 draw against FSV Mainz 05 on Friday, he saw “that the team is willing to put everything into it”.
At first he doesn't worry about “whether I'll be burned or not”.
But the descent hardly seems to be averted.
As the bottom of the table, the Royal Blues are nine points behind the relegation place 16. "We came here to make a difference with the boys, and they want to do it and accelerate - in the end we will see where we end up," said Grammozis, who is already the fifth coach this season on the Schalke sideline, the newspapers of the Funke media group (Monday).
When asked why he signed in Gelsenkirchen, the former Darmstadt 98 coach replied to “Sport1”: “Quite simply: Because I really want to do this job!
Schalke 04 is a big club with incredible energy.
I come from the pot, have already followed S04 as a little boy and know the importance of this club here in the region. "
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The Schalke values should play a major role in the rebuilding.
"Schalke 04 must first define itself through hard work," said Grammozis in an interview with Funke.
But a new start should also be successful in terms of football: "In the future, we don't want to be a team that just plows and hits the balls," said Grammozis.
“We also want to create scoring opportunities and be attractive to the people who come back to the stadium at some point.
That is our mission for the future. "
He confirmed that he wanted to bet on young players too.
"Schalke 04 has one of the best youth departments at all, then it would be fatal for me as a coach if I didn't fall back on it," said Grammozis.
"Still, we have to find a good mix between the future and the present and see that we bring quality to the pitch to win the game."
In the «Bild» interview he also stated that the more experienced players «will probably get their chance again».
The team owes something to the fans and the club.
"Namely, that we bring the most powerful team onto the pitch every match day and not look too much into the future," said the coach.
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© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210308-99-730626 / 2
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