Trabzonspor president backs Fatih Tekke after resignation scare and targets Turkish title

Trabzonspor president Ertugrul Dogan says there is “no disagreement at all” between the club and head coach Fatih Tekke, despite the manager announcing his resignation after their European defeat.

Tekke stepped down following Trabzonspor’s 5-0 aggregate loss to Hungarian side Ferencvarosi in the play-off round for the UEFA Europa League league phase. However, the club’s board later issued a statement confirming that he would remain in charge.

Dogan said Tekke’s decision had been made in the immediate aftermath of the defeat and insisted the situation had now been resolved.

“Fatih Tekke is from Trabzon and the club sees things from a different perspective. There were several incorrect refereeing decisions, but in the end we lost the match. Fatih Tekke, because of his sadness, made a hasty decision,” Dogan told Turkish channel HT Spor.

“Of course, that was not right. We spoke to him, and he was fully aware of his mistake. We are continuing on our path and there are absolutely no problems between us. As I said, it was because of his emotions and his inability to accept that defeat. Rest assured, there is no disagreement between us at all.”

Trabzonspor moved into the UEFA Conference League league phase after Ferencvarosi progressed to the UEFA Europa League league phase.

Despite the setback in Europe, Dogan says the club’s main objective for the current season is to challenge for the Turkish title and finish at the top of the table.

“Of course, there are no easy matches in Europe. Every team operates within a certain system. But Trabzonspor now have a strong squad, and I want to emphasise that. We have brought in some very important stars. To be honest, from now on our target is the league; our target is to reach the top. We will do everything we can to achieve the best position possible. I believe in that, and I have no doubt about it.”

The president also revealed that Trabzonspor are considering signing a young striker, with the club aiming to combine immediate sporting value with the potential for future transfer income.

“It seems that we will choose a young player for the striker position. We are working on promising transfers that will generate financial income for Trabzonspor in the future, while also providing an immediate benefit when the players join,” he said.

“Let me underline that. There are experienced alternatives, as well as excellent young alternatives. If everything goes well, it seems we will sign a young player.”

Dogan added that the club had already followed a similar strategy when reshaping its squad.

“We sold two young players last year. We replaced them with players such as Aral Simsir, Savic and Cabral. In other words, we added players with a similar potential for future sales to the number of young players who left. We also signed three players such as Mohamed Salah, Fabinho and Malinovskyi, footballers who will lead the team with their experience and contribute to the development of our young players.”

He finished by referring to a message shared by Mohamed Salah, saying: “The message shared by Mohamed Salah is enough to convey the feeling of belonging.”

Trabzonspor’s next match is against Amedspor at 21:30 local time on Monday, in the third round of the Turkish league.

Mohamed Salah started the match for Trabzonspor before being substituted in the 63rd minute.