The president of Nea Salamina, Paris Andreou, explained the reasons behind the decision to fire Angel López on “SPOR FM 95.0.”
As he noted, the board of directors decided that there was no future for the Spanish coach on the bench, which is why he is leaving.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Official: Ángel lópez leaves nea salamina
Carrick is counting down the hours on the United bench
As for the new coach, a shortlist will be drawn up, and there is no rush, he emphasized, partly due to the hiatus, with Andre Skembri taking over until further notice. He then addressed the financial situation, emphasizing that it is under control.
Here is what he said in detail:
On the end of the collaboration with Ángel López: “The decision was primarily based on the team’s on-field performance. Certainly, earning only 8 points in the first 9 matches was not entirely acceptable. Overall, the team’s performance—especially on defense—was a serious problem. The fact that, until last week’s match, we had the worst defense in the league—and are now the second-worst—was something that troubled us from the start. Despite our efforts to discuss the issue and the assurances we received from the coach, however, the fact that we have to score three goals in every game just to earn points is a fundamental reason why we made this decision. The same goes for the management of the players. We feel that, given the quality we have, we should have 15 points, not 8. It may seem strange that we made this decision after a win. However, concerns had been raised with the coach. I had discussed this with him after the third matchday. We were expecting improvement. We saw what happened in the last two games; we expected the team to show a different side. In the game against Omonia 29M, it was perhaps our worst performance yet, which resulted in a loss. In the second game, the team struggled in the first half, at least. We were also a bit lucky with the first two goals we scored. Fortunately for us. And thanks to a play by Granchir, we won the game. If the game had ended 2–2, we would have been left with just 1 point in two games. Would that have satisfied us? No. Just because we managed to win the game doesn’t mean we’re ignoring the problem. We evaluated the situation and decided that things cannot continue this way. It doesn’t do justice to the players’ efforts; we should have twice as many points.”
On whether these are the reasons for his dismissal: “We didn’t see the prospect of improvement we wanted. At first we had issues; we supported him as much as we could, but beyond that, I speak in numbers. If we hadn’t beaten Omonia Aradippou, we’d have 6 points. The Board and I decided that wasn’t acceptable. I believe he failed to give the team what he himself probably wanted. Specifically, to score goals and keep the other team from scoring. You can’t win by scoring three goals in every game.”
Regarding the future and his successor: “Nothing has been decided yet. Starting today, we’ll begin the process of searching for a new coach. An evaluation process will follow. It will certainly take a few days. We won’t rush into a decision. We need to find someone we believe we can move forward with, with the best prospects.”
On whether they’ll prioritize someone with knowledge of the Cypriot league: “If you find someone who’s worked here before, that’s an advantage. It’s riskier to bring in someone who isn’t familiar with the league. We won’t rush into anything. We’ll review all the information before deciding who the right person is. We’ll definitely need a coach for the game against Aris. Our goal is to finalize the process as soon as possible so he can start working with the players. Every coaching change carries a risk. We’re aware of that. You have to weigh the risk and determine whether the person you bring in will be better than the one who left.”
On who will take over training sessions: “Skembri, who was the assistant coach, will take over until we decide on the head coach.”
On the roster: “Our biggest concern was the offseason signings. The team has the best roster it’s had in the last 20 years—full of quality and character. It’s up to the new head coach to help the team reach greater heights than where they are today.”
On what he said to the players in the locker room at halftime: “I definitely spoke to the players a minute or two before they went back out. I offered them my support and told them they needed to calm down. The team was nervous in the first half. I told them to play the kind of soccer they know how to play. I told them that this match couldn’t be lost, and to their credit, they gave it their all—they went above and beyond. They managed, even in the 90th minute, to turn a lost game around. We believe in the talent we have.”
On Granchir: “He’s a player who’s proven on the field who he is. He’s a player who’s scored 7–8 goals, and he’s not a striker. He’s a winger. But there are others as well who we believe could have had more playing time and could have proven their quality. And that’s also due to the budget increase.”
On whether Larkou will make the decision regarding the new coach: “There’s a committee reviewing the data. A shortlist will be drawn up, and we’ll decide at the Board of Directors meeting based on the data that will be analyzed for us.”
On the cup draw: “We’re always interested in the competition. We have our sights set on it; the key is for the draw to give us a little help. We hope to go far.”
On the financial situation: “The situation is fully under control, even though we never stop looking for new sponsors. Everything is running smoothly. In the coming period, we’ll be in talks with new sponsors for next year as well. Our goal is to achieve a 15–20% increase in revenue and budget every year. At this stage, we’re satisfied with our revenue.”
Regarding investors: “There’s nothing specific to report; let’s not bore people by repeating the same things.”
Regarding the fans: “The fans are contributing; we ran a campaign this year and got a great response. This effort is for the whole year. The fans are responding. Fan turnout was positive in the first few games, but after a few setbacks, we saw a drop in attendance. Over time, they’ll rally behind the team. We want them by our side. We’re all Salamina—not just us.”
