Helstrup will be assistant coach in Bodø/Glimt under Kjetil Knutsen, and has signed a four-year contract. At 11.20 Helstrup landed in Bodø in a Widerøe flight from Tromsø. Today, the new assistant coach was presented during a press conference at Aspmyra. – It has been intense, but things have gone quickly and orderly. I’m just looking forward to getting started, says Gaute Helstrup. He says there have been several interested parties, but that he didn’t feel it was right. That was before Glimt came on the field. From head coach to assistant coach Gaute Helstrup says that Glimt has raised the bar in Norwegian football in recent years. – It’s nice to see that many teams are reaching out for them. It is an environment that is exciting. It is perhaps the best football environment in Norway, which I am looking forward to being a part of, says Helstrup. – From head coach to assistant coach, isn’t that a step down for a man with ambitions? Gaute Helstrup says that the recent period has been intense. Photo: Gunnar Grindstein / news – I don’t see it that way. Now I have been a head coach in clubs for many years. Now it’s primarily about being part of a very good team, I’m going to a team that already works very well. – Have you been promised the job as head coach? – No, it’s nothing like that. It’s like I say, what we’ve talked about, it’s a good team. There are good and big challenges ahead of us and it is exciting to jump into it, answered Helstrup during the press conference. Denies that Knutsen is leaving He explains that he knows Kjetil Knutsen from before and that he is excited to get to know him even better on a professional level. – That is also one of the reasons for coming here, to be close to and to work with Kjetil. Gaute Helstrup and Kjetil Knutsen know each other from before. Photo: Rune Stoltz Bertinussen / NTB Håvard Sakariassen in Bodø/Glimt also denies that head coach Kjetil Knutsen is leaving. – Nothing has changed for Kjetil at all. We do this because we believe it is the best for Bodø/Glimt and to develop the club. Kjetil is still present in Bodø/Glimt and Bodø/Glimt is the only focus. Was asked about the criticism Gaute Helstrup was also asked about all the criticism that has come from Tromsø after the transition and whether it had made an impression on him. – I don’t feel that way and I feel I’m good at moving forward. It is the role I have had and have in football that is in the spotlight, and not necessarily the person Gaute. Basically, he thinks it is good that there is a lot of emotion around the election. – It probably means that we can open ticket sales for the May 16 match quite soon as well. Gaute Helstrup in place at Aspmyra in Bodø. Photo: Bjarne Brandal / news General manager: – Incredibly proud and happy General manager Frode Thomassen says it has been a quick process and that Helstrup was the club’s first choice. – It is a day of joy. He says that getting Gaute on the team has been a great inspiration. – Gaute has been our first choice and the fact that we have made it happen is something we are incredibly proud of and happy about, says Thomassen. Sporting director Håvard Sakariassen believes it is a good decision for the football community to bring in people internally. – What does it do for Norwegian football that you bring in so many internally from Norway? – I think that it does Norwegian football good. I believe, somewhat like Gaute, that the fact that we have performed well over time means that other communities are inspired by it. I think it’s a good thing for Norwegian football that someone is leading the way. Talks started during the space Christmas He explains that he had some talks with Gaute’s agent at the end of the space Christmas. – We thought and talked about current candidates and Gaute was someone we wanted in on. At the end of the space Christmas, we just wanted to check out what the possibilities were because we were going to give gas to the new year. – From New Year’s Eve we have worked hard and quickly for this we really wanted to achieve. We are a club that works with development and wants to move forward. Glimt veteran Ulrik Saltnes pays tribute to the appointment. – I am delighted. I know Gaute a little from before and know he is an incredibly dedicated footballer who I know will be able to bring a lot of new and good things into Glimt. I welcome him, says Saltnes to Bodø Nu.
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Gaute Helstrup in place in Bodø – news Nordland
