Gyeongnam FC coach Seol Ki-hyeon, who got a chance to try again with a new one year after three years of challenges and failures, was confident of the most complete team.
Coach Seol Ki-hyun said at the 2023 K-League Winter Field Training Media Camp press conference held at Miryang Arina Hotel on the 15th, “We are preparing similarly every year. After the first Namhae training, we are preparing tactical details in Miryang.” I think there is a difference only when the football I pursue for the goal of promotion by organizing the parts I did well and the parts I lacked comes out. I am focusing on that.”
“There were a lot of patients last season, and I’m paying attention to this point,” he said, “I’m preparing to start with the composition I think from the beginning of the season.”
Coach Seol Ki-hyun, who has been in charge of Gyeongnam since 2020, plays his fourth season until this season. In the 2020 season and the 2022 season, he reached the playoffs twice and challenged for promotion, but always tasted frustration at the promotion playoff gateway.
Nevertheless, coach Seol Ki-hyeon was trusted again by signing a one-year renewal contract with the club. Seizing the last opportunity with Gyeongnam, he confidently shouted for a promotion challenge with the most complete squad.
The following is a Q&A from director Seol Ki-hyun.
– I signed a one-year contract renewal.
He thought that renewing the contract would be difficult because he could not reach his final goal, but he is grateful for the trust of the new owner. As I got another chance, I have to make use of my strengths as a fourth year.
Compared to when I first came, there are only three or four players left. I think it’s fitting the composition for the soccer I’m trying to do. The important thing is to try to create a team with a color. This year, I think it’s more important.
– What should I look forward to?
We scored a lot of goals last season, but we also conceded a lot. Since the opponent has a well-organized defense, I tried to make it difficult (to attack) systematically and tried to shoot, and I figured out the pros and cons of that.
As we focused on offense even when we lost points, loopholes were revealed. I saw a lot of good teams making offense based on stabilizing defense. This year, I plan to create a well-balanced attack and a high-quality attack that I think is stable. The football that Gyeongnam wants to play must be revealed on the field. We want to show you what we do.
– It’s a pity to reinforce the midfield defense, but is there any reinforcement for the players?
I think the current team composition is the best I’ve been in for 4 years. It can be said that reinforcements are invisible because there are no players with value, but there are good players such as Song Hong-min and Kim Bum-yoon. Also, both fullbacks were lacking, but Lee Jun-jae has grown.
Woo Sung-sung also came back after suffering a major injury during winter training last season. Internally, reinforcements are well done and training is well done. Overall, it went evenly better than ever before, and we have higher expectations.
– There was a replacement of key resources such as Tiago.
It is true that the former foreign players had good individual skills, but it is regrettable that they left. (Now) Gleyson also has the ability. When a coach creates a team, what matters most is team play. It is good to have a player with excellent individual ability, but there is a risk if you depend on it.
I’ve seen players like that fail to perform well when facing a strong defense. Your skills may drop, but you have to play as a team. But that doesn’t mean these guys aren’t talented. New foreign players can harmonize with Korean players if they create chances and cooperate through team play. There is one spot left for a foreign player, so I plan to reinforce it so that it can be a variety of options in the attack.
-I was given another chance with the renewal of the contract.
I think it’s the last one. Anyway, I am working hard to produce results, and this year will be the same. I don’t think that just because you’re going to produce results doesn’t mean that results will come out. I think it is competitive to make sure I play soccer that I want to play.
It is not easy to spend 4 years with one team as a professional coach. Familiarity gained over a long time and organizational ability 먹튀검증are used as strengths, so foreign players are not as special as last year, but it is important to make the opponent difficult and create a good situation as a team in the stadium.
The soccer that I want to play so far has a lot of clumsy parts, so I am making up for it a lot. The goal is to create a team with completeness, and I want to do it for a long time. Creating such a competitive team is the first step. It’s focused there. Even in the training I am doing now, I have a similar pattern of offense and defense every time.
-Tell me about the lack of results for 3 years.
What is lacking is correct. We found deficiencies and corrected them. It is difficult to make perfect soccer from scratch. It is definitely necessary to supplement and work hard until it is completed, and to admit when it is wrong.
As a coach in my 4th year, I was very lacking, but what I believe I did well was to create and lead the player composition in one direction. i think i did it well Over the course of three years, I learned that some things work and some things don’t. I also studied how to respond to opponents. It is important to create without shortage this season. It is important to move forward with that goal. We will do our best to become the team we think we are.
-How long does it take to improve perfection?
I do not know. I will do it until
-K-League 2 Pando and the location of Gyeongnam.
I predict every time, but when I go in, the situation is different. Realistically, Kim Cheon will do the best and the rest of the teams will compete. You never know who will make the playoffs. Our goal is promotion, and we will revise it depending on the situation, but we will challenge ourselves to achieve our goal in any way.
– Which team is likely to compete the most fiercely?
Every year, I played a difficult game against a team that was always difficult. I’m not sure, but what kind of results you make in matches against teams like Bucheon and Chungnam-Asan, which were difficult every time, will make a difference in the rankings.
I continue to train after analyzing what was difficult in the match against such a team. It’s difficult for teams that are physically strong and work hard, so I try to get results from those teams.