Championship claim from Fenerbahçe Coach İsmail Kartal

Fenerbahçe Coach İsmail Kartal said that he and his team believe that they will reach the championship at the end of the season.

The experienced coach met with members of the press at Fenerbahçe Can Bartu Facilities and made statements about the agenda.

Stating that they made good use of the national break, Kartal said, "My players are confident as a team on the way to the championship. The atmosphere is good inside, the energy of the team is quite good. I hope we will be champions together at the end of the season. My belief in the championship is very high this season. Just like our president, I believe that we will be champions this year. We want to continue this unity until the end of the season and become champions." he said.

Stating that they will be a team that puts forward pressure, makes the opponent make mistakes and can play the set play well in attack, the experienced coach said, "I always try to talk by looking at the current conditions and the opportunities we have. The Federation has a 10+4 rule. We can go until the winter transfer period with this squad. The level of our team is quite good. There are no big differences between the players playing in the same positions. Lukaku was a little behind physically compared to Muric, we are taking care of that as well. This also increases the competition within the team." made his assessment.

Stating that they are playing more strategic competitions in Europe, Kartal stated that Mert Müldür, who is injured, will recover in 4-5 weeks.

Emphasizing that he has a squad of very high-quality players, the 65-year-old coach continued as follows:

"We constantly meet with our president. We spend most of our time in Samandıra with my team. The 'do your training, go home' period in football is over. We have to work overtime. We have a lot of work to do. Planning training, examining the match you are playing, watching the opponent you will play that week, and after explaining these to the team, showing them in practice on the field. We have scored 6 goals from set pieces so far. All of them are the result of work. Everyone has a division of duties."

İsmail Kartal stated that the league is very difficult this season and the teams competing for the championship will lose more points than in previous years.

Stating that they are working on keeping the ball and recovering lost balls, Kartal said, "We are working on the aspects of possession of the ball and reacting to the balls we lose. We are trying to reduce the time it takes to win the ball. It is not easy to adapt some players who are not used to this. They are very high-quality players, but the styles are different. The heart wants it to happen immediately, but it does not happen like that in football. You need to create something from everyone's characteristics. We are on a good track." he said.

"ASENSIO IS IN GOOD CONDITION"

İsmail Kartal stated that Spanish star Marco Asensio is in good health.

Stating that Asensio is working with the team and his morale is high, Kartal said, "Asensio is in good shape. His morale is quite good. We will have him play in the first 11 in the friendly match. I think he can prepare in the best way possible until the Çaykur Rizespor match and take his place in the team." he said.

Noting that he gave his players the advice "There is no yesterday in football" after matches where their performance was not good, Kartal said, "I tell them to focus on the game by closing their ears. Sometimes they try the harder one. Because they want to prove themselves. They will be good so that we will achieve success. I take the responsibility first. This is Fenerbahçe, everyone here has to be successful. In every match, this team has to fight well and play good football. We are constantly trying to explain these things." He commented:

Stating that Mert Hakan Yandaş, who has been away from official matches for a long time, has reached a good level physically, Kartal noted that Romelu Lukaku is a very good professional and will reach his real performance in a short time.

When asked about Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson, Kartal said, "I met with him at the beginning of the season. He told me that he was happy, and we expressed that we trusted him. I told him my wishes. As he became more successful, his self-confidence increased. After what has happened, his performance so far is quite good and he is very happy." he replied.

On the other hand, the experienced coach underlined that they got along very well with the football director Oğuz Çetin and worked very well, and added that they transferred the young defender Kojo Oppong with the support of his former player Alexander Djiku.