Fortuna Köln: “In the long run, the regional league is a difficult thing for us”
Great dissatisfaction in the south of Cologne: Fortuna Cologne messed up the start of the season with just one point from three games. The club boss finds clear words.
0:1 against Lippstadt, 1:1 against Ahlen and 0:2 against Rödinghausen: Bei Fortune Cologne not only the new sporting leadership around sports director Matthias Mink and trainer Markus von Ahlen had imagined a different start to the season. The fans and those responsible are also disappointed.
On the coming match day (Saturday, 2 p.m., RevierSport–live ticker) it goes to SG Wattenscheid 09, who are battered after the 0:8 debacle in Ahlen.
RevierSport spoke to Fortunas boss Hanns-Jörg Westendorf about the start of the season.
Hanns-Jörg Westendorf, how do you rate the start of the season?
We calculated more, so we don’t need to talk about it. We are all – players, coaches, officials, fans – very disappointed. We played badly against Lippstadt, had some bad luck against Ahlen and after the Rödinghausen game I was really disappointed. We had no chance! That was very bad.
I would have preferred that Wattenscheid had only lost 0:2 or 0:3. But as it was, they were downright neutered and will now be out for more to make amends. It will be a very difficult game in Wattenscheid. But that doesn’t matter now: we also need a win now!
Hanns-Joerg Westendorf
Looking at the table, are you concerned that Prussia could quickly pull away from Münster?
We currently have completely different worries than thinking about such topics. We have to make sure that we get our horsepower on the road. With people like Marc Lorenz and Andrew Wooten, Munster brought in real calibres. The Prussians also have a completely different background than we do. You can afford more in the transfer market. We also never talked about having to move up or anything. But it’s also clear that we want to be involved at the top for as long as possible. Because it’s no secret when I say that the regional league is difficult for us in the long run. We have to make sure that we get out of this league in the long and medium term.
How does Fortuna get out of the first small crisis?
It is now up to the coach to turn the tide. The coach works with the team every day and they have to deliver at the weekend. I would like to have more points, create more chances to score, score more goals. There is work to be done. I hope that we will turn things around against Wattenscheid.
Will Fortuna be active again on the transfer market?
Unfortunately, Leon Demaj is out for a long time due to a cruciate ligament rupture, so we want to try to close the gap and create a new offensive force. Let’s see who we’ll bring to Cologne in the end.
What kind of game do you expect in Wattenscheid?
I would have preferred that Wattenscheid had only lost 0:2 or 0:3. But as it was, they were downright neutered and will now be out for more to make amends. It will be a very difficult game in Wattenscheid. But that doesn’t matter now: we also need a win now!