Borussia Mönchengladbach interim coach Eugen Polanski discusses making the leap to the Bundesliga level | OneFootball

Borussia Mönchengladbach interim head coach Eugen Polanski declared himself largely satisfied with his team’s performance following Sunday’s 1-1 Bundesliga draw with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. BMG sporting director Roland Virkus has confirmed that Polanski is being considered as a permanent candidate for the position vacated by Gerardo Seoane’s sacking. The 39-year-old made the most of his moment in the spotlight.

“Before the game, I told the team that they should trust themselves,” Polanski told DAZN in his post-match interview. “That was the most important thing. It took them ten to 15 minutes to bring that confidence onto the pitch. Then they stuck to the game plan and it worked well. We were very difficult to play against defensively, had good passing sequences, and created good scoring opportunities.

“With a little luck, we could have won,” Polanski continued, referencing Jens Castrop’s disallowed goal in the 23rd-minute. “In the Regionalliga, that goal would have counted. I ended my playing career [in 2018] when there was no VAR and I’m very happy about that. Now, I have to put up with this crap.“

The former Gladbach, Mainz, and Hoffenheim professional might have sounded a bit raw when speaking just after the full-time-whistle. To be fair, Haris Tabakovic’s late equalizer left the man who has been coaching BMG II in the fourth tier for three years in an emotional state.

The 18-times-capped Polish international, whom Germans recall from his successful Bundesliga playing career and work with the Polish national team during the 2012 Euros, was a little more polished at the post-match press conference.

“Everybody stuck to the match-plan,” Polanski noted. “The ‘in-game coaching’ is different than in the Regionalliga, but I’m grateful that the substitutes came up with a set-piece equalizer. I’m happy that we scored. It doesn’t matter which players I subbed in or what system I switched to.

“I didn’t have a lot of time to think about the match-plan,” Polanski continued. “It’s all about the basics in football. When it comes to positions, a lot of the guys can play in different areas. One sends them out there with trust.”

A question about one of the players Polanski called up from the BMG II squad (Charles Herrmann) came later on in the presser. Herrmann ended up taking the late corner that Tabalovic converted into the 1-1 at 90+2. Polanski was asked why the 19-year-old was given set-piece-taking responsibilities in his Bundesliga debut.

“Charles has taken enough corners in his life and I trusted him to do so in the Bundesliga,” Polanski answered. “We worked with him on Friday. I just expect that professional players on the pitch know how to take corners.”

“My door remains open to all players,” Polanski answered when posed a later question about the status of Florian Neuhaus. “I have to put ten players on the pitch every match and everyone has a chance to earn their place.”

GGFN | Peter Weis