MONTELLA REJECTS RESIGNATION CALLS: I AM NOT LEAVING

The manager of the Turkish National Football Team, Vincenzo Montella, broke his silence after the heavy defeat taken against Italy and the resignation chants rising from the stands. The successful coach puts an end to the claims about his future and clearly emphasizes that he will continue his duty with the expressions, "I do not think about resigning. I did not leave even when I had important opportunities. Because I believe in my work. I will continue to stand behind our footballers. You can blame me." Drawing attention to the economic power difference between the two teams, the Italian technical man defends that the expectations were far from reality by saying, "When you look at the market values of the 2 teams, Italy is 840 million Euros, and we are 417 million Euros. There was an atmosphere in the media before the match as if it would be an easy match." Reminding the rise of the nationals in recent years, Montella became a shield for his players with the words, "This team was in League C 2.5 years ago. They promoted to League B with me. And now we are in League A. The levels are different. It is not easy to play at this level once every 3 days. This is not an excuse, of course. We play at an unaccustomed level. We also need to make this a habit." The coach, who agreed with the harsh reaction of the fans, confessed, "We deserved to be booed in the first half." The successful coach, speaking determinedly to get the team back on its feet mentally, gives the message, "We do not have a habit of playing once every 3 days at this level and against these opponents. We need to take our lessons. We must do all our work based on the first 30 minutes. We must never lose our self-confidence. We came to these levels. We will be on the pitch again in the best way." Glorifying the effort of his players, Montella said, "Barış Alper and Kerem, 2 of them play out of their own positions for a long time and try to do their best. If it were up to me, I would not spare my support for the players making sacrifices, I even feel like erecting their statues." Finally, touching upon the chronic problem in the forward line, the manager ended his rebellion by saying, "There is no Turkish striker in Turkey who continuously plays and scores in his own club since 2019." Montella and his team will determine a brand new strategy for the remaining matches.

IMAGE: YENİ ŞAFAK