Glasner answers questions on departure, speaks on competition between Aaronson and Lindstrøm
In his first public appearance since his infamous tirade at a press conference last Saturday and the subsequent announcement that he would be leaving Eintracht Frankfurt, Oliver Glasner commented on his turbulent week and provided squad updates at a Thursday presser.
After all the questions on his imminent departure were answered, Glasner spoke on the competition for a starting place between American attacker Paxten Aaronson and Dane Jesper Lindstrøm.
After it was confirmed that he would be departing the club this summer on Tuesday, Eintracht Frankfurt head-coach Oliver Glasner offered only a half-apology for a diatribe unleashed at a presser last Saturday. Speaking at his Thursday pre-match presser, Glasner noted that his "tone" had been improper. The SGE trainer nevertheless emphasized that he stood by the content of his message.
After all the questions on his imminent departure were answered, Glasner spoke on the competition for a starting place between American attacker Paxten Aaronson and Dane Jesper Lindstrøm.
"Oliver Glasner will remain Oliver Glasner," the coach noted, "He has his strengths and weaknesses. I cannot and will not bend. My two years here have made me emotional. I arrived as a bore and I'm leaving as a highly emotional guy. That's how this experience has shaped me."
Glasner will not be coaching his team from the touchline after being sent off on a red card last week. The gaffer noted that, even if his tenure with the current club will coming to an end in a few short weeks, he remained invested in helping Eintracht achieve their goals for the season.
"I'll be watching the game quite nervously," Glasner said of the coming weekend encounter against Mainz, "Without direct influence, it will be more strenuous as usual. It's an important match. We have a chance to overtake a direct European competitor in the table."
Glasner spoke of "tunnel-like" focus during his final weeks in charge of the RheinMain metropolis club and said that he wished to end his term on a positive note. After Danish attacker Jesper Lindstrøm started in last week's defeat and American Paxten Aaronson played the second half, the big personnel question reporters wished to elicit an answer from Glasner on Thursday was which player would start.
"He's made a leap we didn't expect at all," Glasner said of Aaronson, "He's done an excellent job and is definitely moving closer to the starting XI."
"He's not completely free of paid," the SGE noted when speaking on Lindstrøm, "and he's still struggling with the mental aspects of his injury. He still requires minutes in order to get into the swing of things."