Yenihayat: “Elazığspor will always be in the championship race”

Elazığspor’s head coach Bülent Yenihayat said, “Elazığspor will always be in the championship race.”

Bülent Yenihayat, the head coach of Elazığspor, made evaluations at a press conference held at Elazığspor Facilities, attended by 2nd President Mustafa Şerifoğulları and Spokesperson Hasan Uygur. Yenihayat started his speech by evaluating the process since he took over the team, stating that the team will return to its former days and will always be in the championship race.

Starting with a general evaluation about the league, Elazığspor’s head coach Bülent Yenihayat said, “Since the start of the league and up until now, we have played 9 league matches and 1 cup match. In the league, we have achieved 5 victories, 2 draws, and 2 losses in 9 matches. We had a process continuing from last year. In total, we have played 36 matches. We have achieved 25 victories, 9 draws, and 2 losses so far. I think this is an important graph. After the club’s previous troubled period, standing up again, staying in the league last year, and resolving past issues while forming a competitive team and putting the club on that path is not an easy task. My team and I came in the 5th week of the league, starting the process with the Silifke match. When we arrived, there was a pessimistic team. Nobody had hope; there was no victory in the new stadium, and the team was unable to win. We thought it was necessary to instill a winning habit in the team due to the negative graph, and I believe we have been successful in that regard.”

“Elazığspor will return to its former value”

Stating that they have become a team that plays positive football, Yenihayat noted, “Although those here look at it emotionally, we see from the comments made by outside observers that we are a pretty good team. Some people may not like the model we have put on the field. Stability is important; this continues, but sometimes we may not reflect it in the result; there may be variations, a drop in performance, or a player may not be in form on that day. Looking at the general picture, I can say that the game culture continues and we are appreciated by the opponents we face. Elazığspor will return to its former value. When we look at the league, much has been talked about the series, with many teams getting ahead; there is a team that has not lost in 31 matches. This situation has also increased the promotion of Elazığspor. Our normal goal is to become champions in the 2nd League and rise to the upper league. We are still a team that is competing for the top in the ranking. I have stated every time a microphone was extended that our main goal is the championship, despite the series overshadowing that goal.”

“We had to lose somewhere”

Pointing out that there is no group of players or a team that wins all their matches in the world, the experienced coach said, “We always focus on our goal in the league. The first match we lost, which was against Menemen FK, we all did this together; the reason for the loss is not just us. We were bound to lose somewhere; because we have the habit of winning, it was difficult to recover in the city after losing. After that match, I felt like I had lost a loved one. I am saying this for the first time, but we have left it behind; we may lose, but we will improve. After the Menemen match, rumors emerged. It is wrong to make comments where Elazığspor and our name are involved. In summary, Elazığspor has not lost its target. The real Elazığspor fans are supporting us, and we can see that. But there is a faction that does not want Elazığspor to do well, and we can see that. We see and hear people who are upset when this team wins and happy when we lose. They should know that we will do our best.”

“We are not lovers of the seat”

Yenihayat stated that they are currently only 1 point behind the championship average, saying, “In the matches we have played so far, we see the Menemen FK match as a loss. In the Aksaray match, we missed a penalty, and then we created chances; our game is stronger than theirs; those who watch can see that, but somehow the ball did not go into the net. In Erbaa, we were in a position to win, but we missed a one-on-one chance, and then there was a goal we conceded due to positional mistakes. The destructive part is that these events happen. Looking at the average, 3 points at home and 1 point away will lead teams to the championship. We missed the opportunity last week with the goal we conceded in the 90th minute. Our opponents are wary of us. There is a team in the minds of the fans that can never lose, but football is not like that. We have not lost our goal; we will do our best to take this team to the upper league. If a team is performing poorly, we will do what is necessary; we are not lovers of the seat, and we should also emphasize that. Our request from our fans is to support us until the end. As long as we are here, Elazığspor will always be in the championship race. At the end of the league, we will reach the championship we deserve.”

“I made this decision to protect the team”

Speaking about Muhammed Arslantaş, Bülent Yenihayat said, “In the Aksaray match, our first penalty taker is Beykan, and our second penalty taker is Muhammed Arslantaş. We determined this at the beginning of the league. Muhammed has scored penalties in every team he has played for. The penalty taken by Kerim was not in the game, but even if he were in the game, we could not have him take it after his missed penalty a week before and his sadness; he wouldn’t want to take it anyway. At that moment, we didn’t say let Muhammed take it so that his morale could improve. Muhammed was the penalty taker, so he took it. Muhammed is very upset about the missed chances. We did not suspend him for punishment; he has a slight injury, and I told the management after the Erbaa match; ‘I cannot bring Muhammed in front of this audience.’ Normally, I would have started with Muhammed as a striker in the cup match, but after the Erbaa match, I made the decision not to bring him in front of this fanbase. Even if it were Beykan, I couldn’t have brought him out. I made this decision to protect the team.”