Lions coach: Changes don’t happen overnight
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Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 06, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Fans tend to believe that legendary former player Bülent Korkmaz's arrival at Galatasaray as coach has changed the club completely, but the 40-year-old former defender is playing down his own impact in such a short time, insisting that he does not have a magic wand.
With two wins in four days, Bülent Korkmaz’s arrival as new coach seems to have given Galatasaray a real boost. However, Korkmaz plays down his short-term impact on the team.
The Lions enter the 23rd round of the Turkcell Super League with a home game against Bursaspor tonight.
Assigned on the same day that Michael Skibbe was fired following a string of poor results, Korkmaz managed to lead his team to a dramatic 4-3 victory against Bordeaux the UEFA Cup last Thursday. His second game at the helm was the league match at Konyaspor, and although Galatasaray failed to impress, it still won 1-0.
But, speaking at a press conference, Korkmaz insisted that change would not happen overnight.
"I don’t have a magic wand," Korkmaz said. "I need some time to improve the team. You will see differences happen gradually, and that is why we need time."
Although he admitted that his arrival and a brace of wins had given the team a huge morale boost.
"It has been eight or nine days since I got here, and winning both games added to the motivation of the team," he added. "Previously, the team lost all its league games after victories in Europe, but we broke it with the Konyaspor game.
"We are going through a tough period and we know that, but we believe that we will do our best during that period," he said.
Galatasaray is fifth in the Turkcell Super League and five points behind leader Sivasspor, but Korkmaz does not wait for opponents to drop points; his priority is the team is winning its games.
"All we think about is going in to the games as the favorites, and win," he explained. "We will chase the title as long as we win. First, we will consider how good we are, and if opponents drop points, that would be an advantage for us."
Plays against Bursaspor
"You have to show that you want the title. All we are thinking about is the Bursaspor match right now," said Korkmaz. "I hope our fans fill the stadium and give us their full support."
The Galatasaray legend praised Bursaspor and said the win would not come easy.
"It will be a difficult game, Coach Ertuğrul Sağlam improved Bursaspor, but we’ll do anything for the win."
Bursaspor beat Galatasaray 2-1 in the teams’ first game this season. Sağlam believes that his Crocs can do it again. "We know that Galatasaray will aim for the win at its own stadium," said Sağlam. "But we have our targets, we want to win a berth in next year’s UEFA Cup, and need a win or a draw from this game."
Sağlam said his team’s form was improving every day, despite the recent run of draws.
"We are playing better and better," Sağlam said, whose Bursaspor had two wins and four draws in the six games played with him at the helm. "Those draws may have made the team a little pessimistic, but there is no need for that. They were all against good teams."
Bursaspor is in the eighth place with 32 points. "We want to move to the top six," Sağlam explained. "We have our hopes, just like Galatasaray does." Galatasaray will play without right back Sabri Sarıoğlu Ğ who is suspended after collecting four yellow cards Ğ and injured players Servet Çetin, Emre Güngör and Mehmet Topal. Meanwhile, Bursaspor comes to Istanbul with a complete squad. Tonight’s game at the Ali Sami Yen Stadium starts at 8:00 p.m.
The Lions enter the 23rd round of the Turkcell Super League with a home game against Bursaspor tonight.
Assigned on the same day that Michael Skibbe was fired following a string of poor results, Korkmaz managed to lead his team to a dramatic 4-3 victory against Bordeaux the UEFA Cup last Thursday. His second game at the helm was the league match at Konyaspor, and although Galatasaray failed to impress, it still won 1-0.
But, speaking at a press conference, Korkmaz insisted that change would not happen overnight.
"I don’t have a magic wand," Korkmaz said. "I need some time to improve the team. You will see differences happen gradually, and that is why we need time."
Although he admitted that his arrival and a brace of wins had given the team a huge morale boost.
"It has been eight or nine days since I got here, and winning both games added to the motivation of the team," he added. "Previously, the team lost all its league games after victories in Europe, but we broke it with the Konyaspor game.
"We are going through a tough period and we know that, but we believe that we will do our best during that period," he said.
Galatasaray is fifth in the Turkcell Super League and five points behind leader Sivasspor, but Korkmaz does not wait for opponents to drop points; his priority is the team is winning its games.
"All we think about is going in to the games as the favorites, and win," he explained. "We will chase the title as long as we win. First, we will consider how good we are, and if opponents drop points, that would be an advantage for us."
Plays against Bursaspor
"You have to show that you want the title. All we are thinking about is the Bursaspor match right now," said Korkmaz. "I hope our fans fill the stadium and give us their full support."
The Galatasaray legend praised Bursaspor and said the win would not come easy.
"It will be a difficult game, Coach Ertuğrul Sağlam improved Bursaspor, but we’ll do anything for the win."
Bursaspor beat Galatasaray 2-1 in the teams’ first game this season. Sağlam believes that his Crocs can do it again. "We know that Galatasaray will aim for the win at its own stadium," said Sağlam. "But we have our targets, we want to win a berth in next year’s UEFA Cup, and need a win or a draw from this game."
Sağlam said his team’s form was improving every day, despite the recent run of draws.
"We are playing better and better," Sağlam said, whose Bursaspor had two wins and four draws in the six games played with him at the helm. "Those draws may have made the team a little pessimistic, but there is no need for that. They were all against good teams."
Bursaspor is in the eighth place with 32 points. "We want to move to the top six," Sağlam explained. "We have our hopes, just like Galatasaray does." Galatasaray will play without right back Sabri Sarıoğlu Ğ who is suspended after collecting four yellow cards Ğ and injured players Servet Çetin, Emre Güngör and Mehmet Topal. Meanwhile, Bursaspor comes to Istanbul with a complete squad. Tonight’s game at the Ali Sami Yen Stadium starts at 8:00 p.m.