After the surprising separation from coach Maik Machulla, handball Bundesliga club SG Flensburg-Handewitt is looking for a successor. Interim coach Mark Bult has the same chances as any other candidate, said SG Managing Director Holger Glandorf.
The ex-professional defended the decision to release Machulla after the horror week with the elimination in the DHB Cup and European League and the bitter derby bankruptcy at THW Kiel. “In terms of sport, I stand by it one hundred percent,” said the 40-year-old to NDR, but added: “It’s clear that it was difficult personally and privately after around 20 years of working together.”
Glandorf does not want to put up with the accusation of not only drawing the line after the end of the season, but of having acted “activistically” during the international break: “It would not have been fair to look for a new coach in the background. So open and you have to be honest.”
“Get the Team Back Up”
Machulla believed that he could still turn things around, “but we wanted a fresh start – an impulse to make the team take responsibility again.” The players now have “no more excuses”, said Glandorf.
It is now a matter of getting the “very insecure team” back on its feet and “focusing and playing the remaining eight games of the season sensibly”.
Interim coach Bult with chance of parole
The international break now gives the club management the opportunity to “observe the market calmly,” said Glandorf. However, he left it open whether interim coach Bult will also look after the SG until the end of the season.
“Of course Mark has qualities, he knows how the SG works. That’s why he should also have the chance to prove himself with the team. But the next few days will show what that will look like in the future.”
Will it be Gudmes Krickau?
No time limit was set when looking for a coach, explained Glandorf, who “speaks to several candidates”, but does not want to look at the cards. The new SG coach must fit Flensburg’s “Scandinavian” style of play and “be fluent in the German language”, the former international indicated a possible profile. The trend is probably more towards a younger coach.
36-year-old Nicolej Krickau, who has been a coach at GOG Svendborg Gdume since 2017 and led the club to the Danish championship in 2022, is said to be on the SG wish list. “An interesting candidate,” Glandorf could only be elicited. But he made one thing clear: “I won’t do it myself.”
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Schleswig-Holstein Magazine | 04/25/2023 | 19:30 o’clock