Pekka Virta understands the fired Lauri Marjamäki – Still sees the reasons for the firings

Pekka Virta knows that premature terminations of employment are part of the job description of a hockey coach. Roni Lehti

Iltalehti’s expert Pekka Virta want to make one thing clear Lauri Marjamäki fired from Kärpi.

– Such things are never caused by just one thing or person. I know this personally as a fired coach myself, says Virta.

Marjamäki returned as head coach of Kärppie in February 2022. Expectations were high for many when the coach of the Oulu club’s championship seasons in 2014 and 2015 returned as the main commander of the kärppä pack.

Marjamäki’s current period in Kärpi was considerably quieter than the previous period.

– At the beginning of the collaboration, everyone believes in a common story. During the journey, however, everything will happen. When there is enough pressure from the outside in weak moments, we start looking for the culprits, Virta describes.

Kicks are always a heavy solution.

– The coach throws himself into the game and is guaranteed to do everything he can until the end to get results, says Virta.

Difficult situation

Marjamäki’s defeat at the helm of Kärppie ended in dismissals, even though the team from Oulu is fifth in the regular season.

In this case, it is worth looking at the whole. With the Kärppi’s resources and the audience’s demands, both the placement and the gameplay were not good enough.

– Such decisions are never made in an instant. It’s a long process. In Kärpi, the situation came to this.

What could have saved Marjamäki then?

– Continuous top results, summarizes Virta.

Kärpät justified Marjamäki’s firing in the press release by saying that the sporting success of the early season did not meet the goals.

– Game-wise, the team should have been in such a mess that the belief in the spring games would be strong. That would have made the atmosphere within the team easier, says Virta.

Last season was a huge disappointment for Kärpi. Because of that, Marjamäki’s situation was already difficult when starting this season.

– This season was a place of forced success. I have personally experienced that it is not an easy situation, Virta says.

According to Virra, there is always a long process behind the firings.

– I’m sure that all stones and stumps were turned to find a solution. But there might be things in the background that we outsiders don’t know. That’s why it’s impossible to analyze these firings, Virta says.

– But it is now clear that if the game had gone damn well and Kärpät had been the top team in the series, such a solution would not have been seen.

One purpose of a coaching change is to wake up the team. Virta does not doubt that the pack of beasts will play more freely in future matches.

But what happens when things settle down?

– It will be interesting to see who Kärpät washes in his place, Virta reflects.

In Sweden, the mood is different

Virta reminds us that hockey is not only a sport, but also a business.

For example, pressure from sponsors and club supporters can grow into factors that force the club to look for changes towards better results.

– When the pressure for changes becomes large enough, changes are made. Let the agreements be of any kind, Virta reminds.

When talking about coach firings, Virta brings up an interesting difference between Finland and Sweden.

– When a coach change takes place in Sweden in the middle of the season, the search for a new coach does not start until the employment relationship with the old one ends. There are no overlapping conversations. In Finland, I know of many cases where a new coach is being surveyed even before the current coach has even been fired, says Virta.