SG Wattenscheid 09 is threatened with relegation for the second time in a row. However, the team at the bottom of the Westphalian Oberliga is far from ready to give up.

No SG Wattenscheid 09 fan is likely to have fond memories of the soccer year 2023. After being relegated from the Regionalliga West, the former Bundesliga club is also in a relegation spot in the Oberliga Westfalen. The second half of the season ended just as modestly as the first. Hope is a tender plant at the Lohrheide, which wants to continue to defend itself against the possibility of another relegation.

SG coach Engin Yavuzaslan on…

The first half of the season in the Oberliga Westfalen: “There are no two opinions, you just have to look at the table. You have to be open and honest. The club had ambitious plans. But you also have to say that I joined in the middle of the season. The automatisms can’t take effect immediately. You have to take small steps. However, I have seen a good development process in the last three or four weeks of the first half of the season. The boys are fit and working hard in games and training.”

What was your best moment? “The team has never shown that it no longer believes in itself. The atmosphere is great. But I’m also looking forward to when 2023 is finally over and we can aim for 2024 at full throttle.”

What was your worst moment? “Every defeat eats me up, I’m very self-critical. All the defeats weren’t nice, there’s no single situation.”

The goals for 2024: “We have to change a lot, that’s clear. We have a lot of work to do and need to get the team in shape. That’s why we’re starting quite early. I want to show my kind of soccer. That means that we can play flexibly, with many systems that we can change again and again during the game and that we can work hard against the ball in defense. That is essential. We have to avoid individual mistakes. “