Despite the poor results in recent weeks, Simonis did not immediately foresee this. “I had the feeling that we were going to play better and suddenly it was over,” he says in his first interview after his dismissal from the German newspaper Wolfsburger Allgemeinen Zeitung. “I would have liked more time. I was convinced that our idea would work, but you need time for that.”
How Paul Simonis’ dream adventure in the Bundesliga ended in a fiasco
Yet Simonis does not claim that he has done everything perfectly. “Of course I have made mistakes. I have learned that I have to remain calmer and be closer to my players. If I get another chance, I will work more closely with the scouting department to better understand which type of players fit the selection and where we can strengthen ourselves in a targeted manner.”
Not great physically
According to Simonis, the selection he received was not optimal for performing in the physically demanding Bundesliga. “We had many technically gifted players, but physically and in terms of content we were not able to reach the level that was necessary.”
For Simonis – who only had one season as head coach at Go Ahead Eagles as a head coach before moving to That Wolfe pulled – now we have to wait for a new opportunity. “There will be a new challenge.” When asked whether that challenge is Ajax – where Johnny Heitinga was fired last week – he did not wish to comment.