at the head of Saint-Étienne, the Norwegian Horneland wants to establish “clear and recognized playing identity”

Appointed coach of Saint-Étienne, 16th and play-off in Ligue 1, the Norwegian Eirik Horneland declared on Friday that he wanted “initially develop confidence in the locker room and capitalize on energy» felt with the supporters. “ASSE is a fantastic club. I will try to bring passion and intensity to the team, supported by a very large fan base who can infuse it with energy», Said the technician at a press conference at the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium.

«He is the person we need to achieve the goals we want to achieve. He checked all the boxes in terms of what we observed of him as a coach and as a person», Assured Huss Fahmy, vice-president in charge of football at Kilmer Sports Ventures, owner of ASSE, of which he is director of operations. Former SK coach Brann Bergen (Norwegian 1st division) said:aware of the situation in relation to the numbers and the ranking».

You will have to be very disciplined but the most important thing will be the principles of play, oriented towards the offensive, and a collective style.

«There was a difficult start to the season in a very difficult French championship. You will have to perform as quickly as possible to obtain the expected results. We will work to make the game more active. For the moment, I am not interested in the transfer window but rather in knowing the players“added Horneland. “You will have to be very disciplined but the most important thing will be the principles of play, oriented towards the offensive, and a collective style. Have an active team moving very quickly from defense to attack“, he clarified.

«We will work in the short term, of course, but above all for the long term (…). Firstly, I will mainly operate on a day-to-day basis to establish a work ethic before we see, over time, a clear and recognized gaming identity.», Detailed Eirik Horneland, who signed a two and a half year contract, until June 30, 2027. He comes with his assistant, Hassan El Fakiri, former Norwegian defender of Moroccan origin for Monaco (2000-2005), French-speaking.

«He knows the French championship and our way of working. It's important to have it with me. He is very enthusiastic about coming to Saint-Étienne», Underlined the new Saint-Etienne coach. For the rest, he will rely on the members of the management already present.