By Peter Weis@PeterVicey

Bobic in interview: "It's up to Pal Dardai how long he remains coach."

In an interview in the Monday print edition of German footballing magazine Kicker, new Hertha BSC sporting director Fredi Bobic spoke on the challenges facing him in his new task. 

The 49-year-old executive also emphasized that it was up to current trainer Pal Dardai how long he wished to remain the head-coach. 

Dardai himself insisting that he remained "full of vigor" for his job at Sunday's training session.
Fredi Bobic.
Fredi Bobic.Photo: Sven Mandel / CC-BY-SA-4.0
For the large interview in the print edition of Monday's Kicker magazine, current Hertha BSC chief exec Fredi Bobic spoke to journalist Steffen Rohr. The former Stuttgart and Frankfurt administrator naturally conveyed his dissatisfaction at the way his new club began the season.

"The first three fixtures [Köln, Leipzig, Bayern] were tough, but we didn't have to lose them all," Bobic said, "Then came the two wins against the promoted teams--games you have to win. In Leipzig, [0-6 loss this weekend] one could clearly see that we're not as stabile as we had hoped. We'll have to work intensively on that."

"My task is to change things," Bobic continued, "but that takes time. It was no different in Frankfurt circa 2016. It's about creating a new culture; inspiring a certain confidence and fostering clarity in business decisions as well--inspiring the employees to push themselves to their limits in the own specific area."

"We are in the process of launching a new development," he also noted, "and this cannot be done at the drop of a hat. It takes time."

Regarding his current coach, who essentially threatened to quit after the team opened the season with three straight losses, Bobic remained unequivocal in his stance that the words were "unhelpful."

"I told him personally and I'll say it now publicly," Bobic stressed, "It's up to Pal Dardai himself how long he'll remain coach."

Dardai made it known that he wasn't satisfied with the summer transfer window shortly before the season kicked off. Bobic brushed this off as "normal for a coach and the same everywhere else."

"Pal has been involved in all the processes from the very beginning," Bobic noted, "And the fact that the squad was not completed by August 31st is unfortunately normal in these times. Welcome to the corona-pandemic and the year 2021!"

For his own part, Dardai put on a brave face for the media rounds after Sunday's training session.

"I come to training every day with a fully charged battery and try to help each player improve," Dardai told reporters, "I also came in today in a good mood and full of vigor. We want to improve. I wouldn't wish feelings like the ones after yesterday's game on any athlete. It's not nice."

"We'll have to reset and quickly tick off this game," he added, "We've talked about it a hundred times. You have to learn from these things."

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