The newly-appointed head coach of the German outfit said that he was not expecting to take over from former manager Huub Stevens, and expressed his surprise at the new role
Former VfB Stuttgart and TSV 1860 Munchen defender Jens Keller was promoted to become the team trainer of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/FC-Schalke-04-c39204. The 42-year-old previously coached the Under-17 side and replaced veteran manager Huub Stevens at the Veltins
Arena. The former boss was fired last week following poor league performance of the http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Royal-95-c40387 Blues.
The former player stepped up to his new role at the Bundesliga club and has been handed the first-team until the end of the current campaign. He insisted that when he started coaching the http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/U-17-Youth-team-c40787, he was not thinking of training
the senior team anytime soon.
"When I was unveiled as under-17 coach in summer I never thought I'd take charge of the first team here,” he added.
The former http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/VfB-Stuttgart-c40879 boss claimed he was just interested in helping the youth academy, and aid them in improving their technique. He said that it was an exciting venture, and the young lads were keen to play under him. He stated
that they have enjoyed good run of form at the Under-17 level.
"I was simply looking forward to an exciting challenge in the youth set-up. Working with the under-17s over the last few months has been great fun. The boys are eager to learn and have had a fantastic season so far,” he mused.
On the other hand, he suggested that there is a huge difference between the Bundesliga and the youth set-up. He revealed that the pace of the game is very fast in the German top division.
"The biggest difference between youth football and professional football is that the game is even faster at this level. The intensity is almost the same, however. We trained under virtual professional conditions with the under-17s,"
he stated.
However, Keller further added that the passion is exactly the same as even the youngsters are hungry to do well. He conceded that he made the Under-17s train the same way as the senior team.
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