Great dissatisfaction in Cologne’s Südstadt: Fortuna Köln have made a mess of 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: At Fortuna Köln, it was not only the new sporting management around sporting director Matthias Mink and coach Markus von Ahlen who had imagined a different start to the season. The fans and those responsible are also disappointed.
On the next matchday (Saturday, 2 p.m., RevierSport live ticker), the team will play SG Wattenscheid 09, who are reeling from the 8-0 debacle in Ahlen.
RevierSport spoke to Fortuna boss Hanns-Jörg Westendorf about the start of the season.
Hanns-Jörg Westendorf, how do you rate the start of the season?
We expected 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 a bit of bad luck against Ahlen and I was very disappointed after the Rödinghausen game. We had no chance! That was very bad.
I would have preferred that Wattenscheid had only lost 0:2 or 0:3. But they were really neutered like that and will now be all the more eager to make amends. It will be a very difficult game in Wattenscheid. But that doesn’t matter now: We need a win now, too!
Hanns-Jörg Westendorf
With a look at the table, are you worried that Preußen Münster could quickly pull away?
We have completely different worries at the moment than thinking about such issues. We have to make sure that we get our horsepower on the road. Münster have brought in real calibre players like Marc Lorenz and Andrew Wooten. Preußen also have a completely different background than we do. They can afford more on the transfer market. We never said we had to get promoted or anything like that. But it’s also clear that we want to stay at the top for as long as possible. Because it’s no secret when I say that the Regionalliga is a difficult place for us in the long run. In the long and medium term, we have to make sure that we get out of this league.
How will Fortuna get out of the first small crisis?
It’s now up to the coach to turn things around. 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 scoring chances, score more goals. There is work to be done. I hope we can turn things around against Wattenscheid.
Will Fortuna be active on the transfer market again?
Leon Demaj is out for a very long time due to a cruciate ligament rupture, so we want to try and close the gap and sign a new offensive force. Let’s see who we 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 they were really neutered like that and will now be all the more eager to make amends. It will be a very difficult game in Wattenscheid. But that doesn’t matter now: we need a win now too!
