Torsten Frings was not a happy man after Darmstadt’s heavy defeat to Cologne. But the head coach was more frustrated about all the talk surrounding one of his players.After Darmstadt’s 6-1 drubbing at home to Cologne, Darmstadt head coach Torsten Frings had some strong words to say – and not just about the performance.
Want-away defender Florian Jungwirth was left out of the matchday squad after the 28-year-old is reportedly keen on a move to Major League Soccer club San Jose Earthquakes. Frings was frustrated at having to repeat himself about the situation and spoke bluntly in the press conference after the game.
“If something comes up, we’ll talk about a transfer. If nothing comes up, he has to continue to work his butt off for us. If he doesn’t, he’ll sit in the stands for six months,” said Frings after the game.
“There is no other way… Contracts are there to be upheld and if a player doesn’t want to do that then he’ll have a problem with me. It’s as simple as that. We’ve been fair and open and now I expect some calmness so we can take the next step, either way. You’re making it bigger than it is. It’s not an issue for us. We have spoken to the player. He knows the score. It doesn’t make sense to add external pressure.”
When asked by a journalist in the press conference whether Jungwirth had been omitted from the matchday squad based on performance or because of the transfer talk, Frings snapped.
“This week he trained like he wanted to go to the US. And I won’t be put under pressure. If someone here isn’t ready to give 100 percent for Darmstadt then they aren’t in the squad. And if he doesn’t learn that so long as he’s a player of ours he must give it his all, something that’s normal in the working world, that someone does their job the best they can, then he’ll have to live with the consequences.”
“We were open and honest with him. But we can’t make ourselves worse than we already are just so one of his dreams can come true. I dreamt that we would win tonight, but tough, it didn’t come true. And what should I do now? That’s the way it is, sorry.”
“This isn’t a walk in the park… Contracts are there, the club transfers the money on time every month. We could save money because he only gave 50 percent in training. I would love to know how many agents would then turn up on our doorstep. It’s not on.”
