Sports director Dieter Hecking has once again commented on his season goal for 1. FC Nürnberg in his annual review and had clear words for coach Robert Klauß.
30 points after 18 second division match days, plus 5th place and within striking distance of the direct promotion places. 1. FC Nürnberg has picked up speed with a view to the second half of 2021, which is now coming to an end. And that was not a matter of course. Last season, the Central Franconians sometimes fought against relegation. But for one person, that was never a serious possibility: sporting director Hecking.
Even if Klauß wasn’t happy: the season’s goal makes sense
Hecking was right, but once again made it difficult for his coach Robert Klauß and the installed sporting director Olaf Rebbe before the start of the current season by pronouncing an official season target. The target was and still is 5th to 8th place, so the team at the Valznerweiher is currently on target. Nevertheless, there was an “internal discussion”. Klauß and Rebbe were “not entirely happy” with the decision. “Because this announcement can haunt us a bit,” Hecking explained in an interview on the FCN club website.
But so far it hasn’t, which the 57-year-old also thinks is a good thing. He wants “the team to know where to go, they should not have an alibi”. In addition, the team also needs a point of reference. The target of a “carefree season”, which it was in the end in the past season – with the exception of January and February – was “not wrong” at the time. “But we have to move on now and for me that also includes a season goal. “
As a former coach, I can tell if someone is losing the team or not.
Meanwhile, Hecking continues to refuse to label the alleged “most difficult phase” at the club due to a losing streak at the start of the calendar year. “I don’t care about it any more,” adds the former coach, who did perceive a negative mood at the beginning of the year, but also states clearly: “All of Nuremberg thought that it was heading towards relegation again, if not even more. I didn’t have that feeling at that stage. “
For Hecking, the reason for this was the cooperation between coach Klauß, his coaching team and the team itself. There had always been trust on both sides, and the relationship had also been right during the difficult times. There were never any whispers about him “behind the coach’s back”. Hecking even adds: “As a former coach, I can tell whether someone is losing the team or not. I can therefore judge very well whether the team stands by the coach or not, and the team stood by the coach at that stage of the season.” This fact, he said, was “exactly what helped us at the end of the year”. It is also why the club can dream of promotion again instead of trembling about staying in the relegation zone.
