– We have struggled more than we thought, and that is a reality. news meets Kjetil Rekdal in his office at the Brakka club house next to Lerkendal. Rosenborg has taken a poor nine points in the first eight matches in the elite series this year. And even more talked about: The senior team has only scored seven goals. The day after the interview, RBK only managed to score one goal against Trygg/Lade from level five in the first round of the cup, and the coach went on a long tirade against his own team. And on the night of Friday, Rosenborg was greeted by a protest banner on the training ground. In Rekdal’s first season, the team finished third in the series, and victorious Trønder fans expect far more than what is now 11th place. The coach himself does the same. He means substitutions on the player side and a very young squad means that the team needs time. – If you want to win football matches in the elite series, you have to score two or three goals, and we mostly have one. It is clear that it is too little, admits Rekdal. He disappoints, and he knows the responsibility. To such an extent that it can keep him awake at night. A LOT OF JOB: Kjetil Rekdal was engaged in a meeting with news. Photo: Fredrik Solbu Jullumstrø / news – There are 24 hours in the day, and it always happens that you wake up at night and think about relationships, consultations and small steps. I said it before the season that it is incredibly important to pick up points while the development is progressing. We have scored too few points and the development has not gone as far as we thought either. But that doesn’t mean we can’t get it done, points out Rekdal. About experts: – Too stupid or stupid Before he hired HamKam up from the 1st division to the elite series, the 54-year-old worked as a football expert for VGTV and Eurosport. – What had football expert Rekdal said about today’s Rosenborg? – That they struggle. Struggle to create chances and struggle to score goals. And I think everyone sees that. But I also understood the challenges to a greater extent than many do, because it is unfair to expect a 20-year-old boy from Finland to come to Norway and do the same as those who were recorded last year, he replies. There have been many expert opinions, and although Rekdal claims he prefers things to boil and that many people care about the club, he does not have the same amount to spare for all opinions. – If they are going to call themselves experts, then they have very little understanding of the starting point and reality. They just looked into something and just hammered away without deep professional insight. I tried it when I was an expert myself. I never told a coach that he was hopeless or stupid, or that he didn’t have a plan, or that a player was damn, bad ass. I tried to analyze why, explains Rekdal, without naming names, and continues: – Then on the basis of what they had to say. They say they are going to try to play like that, so why don’t they get it done and analyze the challenges they have and the way they are going to get it done. Now it very quickly becomes too stupid or stupid, he asserts. – Too little criticism Neither news’s nor Adressa’s football experts agree. – They are in a process with a lot of young players and a lot to deal with, but I think there has been far too little criticism of Rosenborg in connection with the sports doctors and the results they last years. They are far from the level they should be at, states Carl-Erik Torp. – I have thought a little myself and followed most of the others, and I see no one to blame for not having a plan in any case. But it is difficult to see what kind of plan, and there is a significant difference, says Birger Løfaldli. He has followed the club closely for a number of years for Adresseavisen and certainly does not know that the criticism of this season’s Rosenborg has been unfounded. – The noise and dissatisfaction has lasted for a relatively long time now. And I assumed that there is a plan there, but that plan and the philosophy and the approach to renting Rosenborg differ quite a lot from what has been a tradition at Lerkendal. Where there will be terpa on characteristic attacking play. It is possible they do it, but I find it difficult to see the result of it in battle, says Løfaldli. SLOW START: There have been several losses for Rosenborg captain Markus Henriksen (number seven) and the rest of the Rosenborg players this season. Over here towards Bodø/Glimt. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB – That Rekdal knows those outside do not have as good insight and understanding as he does, is natural, but as both he and everyone knows, it is part of the mechanisms in football that people care and mean something, even if they don’t have 100 percent insight, comments Torp. – Destructively, the Rosenborg manager also understands some of the criticism, and according to himself has no problem with it as long as it is on topic. – It is a warning when you sit down and shoot a poison arrow that everything is useless or incompetent. It’s much more complicated than that. But we just have to live with that. We live in a free country and people can say what they want, then you just have to turn a blind eye. It is clear that it is very destructive if one has to listen to everyone who has the facet, who has not tried it themselves. – Has your time in Rosenborg been as expected? – It depends on what you mean. With everything cooked around, yes. I have been honest that I was a little surprised by the starting point when I arrived. It was a downward trend and then you encounter a bit of despair, disappointment, frustration and maybe get a bit discouraged. Because it is a big club, it is expected to fight for the title every single year, says Rekdal. Eager: Kjetil Rekdal’s Rosenborg lost 2-3 away to league leaders Bodø/Glimt in May. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB – That’s how I feel that I put in place what we were supposed to do last year. The arrow went up quite steeply, then it lost speed and flattened out and went down. We must be so honest. Then it’s a matter of getting him up again. It may happen that someone gets cranky around us and says that there is no plan, that it is random, that things must change. Now, Rosenborg has probably changed quite a few coaching teams at great speed for a number of years in a row, which has also been a reason why things have gone down, he says. Løfaldli in Adressa seems that Rekdal too often talks down his own team in order to lower expectations. He thinks that may have had the opposite effect. – Since the 80s, there have never been lower expectations for Rosenborg. I think most people think so too. Nobody was talking about gold before this season, and it is sensational. The demand from most people is that they should try to play fun and engaging football, and to bleed for the kit, and that this must be visible, says Løfaldli. EXPERT: Birger Løfaldli in Adressa. Photo: Glen Musk / Adresseavisen – For the players, it can also be unfortunate that Rekdal talks down expectations to such a great extent. I think he has gone too far in the way he portrays the situation. When young inexperienced players hear this time and time again in the media, it can affect them negatively. Not feeling panic The head coach says that he still has faith that the team can win a medal this year. He underlines the fact that with a win away to Brann they can make a difference in the table. He himself is not further concerned about losing his job, although he believes that others must answer whether he is safe. – I have not felt any panic internally. There is a very united board and administration, with everyone involved in the profession here, on the challenges we have, and which way we must go to get out of it. And then you know that when you sit in this chair here, that you are actually living a bit on borrowed time, says Rekdal. But until then, he has faith, both in the team and the way he is trying to rebuild Rosenborg. At least the desire is there. – If we had won all the matches, and won 3-0, then someone would have probably thought that the goal was scored in the wrong way. It is part of being a coach in Rosenborg. It’s fascinating and I think it’s a bit cool that it boils a bit. It sharpens your senses. You really want to make it happen, and maybe point your nose a little at those who have made inappropriate comments.
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