AIK Coach Andreas Brännström’s Future Uncertain After CEO’s Departure Following Derby Loss

Manuel Lindberg has left AIK.

But Thomas Berntsen says that the club still has confidence in coach Andreas Brännström.

– He leads the team against Kalmar, says the sports manager.

AIK suffered a heavy 1-0 loss in the derby against Djurgården yesterday. A derby that was interrupted after flares and bangers were thrown onto the field and into the stands.

During the match, a banner also came up in the stands where supporters demanded the resignation of CEO Manuel Lindberg and coach Andreas Brännström.

During the morning, Lindberg also left on his own accord.

– He informed me this morning, says AIK chairman Robert Falck.

Chairman of the board refers all questions about coach Brännström to Sportbladet Thomas Berntsen.

“Not desirable”

When Sportbladet meets him at Karlberg before Monday’s training, he says that his confidence in the coach is firm.

– We have confidence in him. It is natural that there are statements in such a club as AIK. That it is someone who thinks one way or the other, we have to put up with. Especially when things are going as bad as they are now.

But he will coach the team against Kalmar?

– He will do that.

How did the talk go today here at Karlberg?

– We are characterized by the table situation and want to turn this trend around and we couldn’t do it yesterday. It is of course a special match. It has been a tough morning and we are in a tough situation, but now is the time to show what kind of person you are.

What must you do now?

– We have a short-term and a long-term perspective. Things are as they are, we can’t do anything about reality. A solution will not rain down from the sky. It may sound a bit annoying, but the important thing is what happens on the training ground and that we pull in the same direction. It is absolutely crucial.

Many want to see new acquisitions this summer, how many will there be?

– We’ll have to look into that. The players we have are always the most important. We have to develop them. But there will certainly be new players coming in this summer. My philosophy is to sign players who build a training culture over time, but now we have put ourselves in a table situation that means we may look at more short-term solutions. But it is not desirable.

How has it been to get into this situation?

– It is challenging. The more I get to work with sports, the better I am, but the first three weeks I have worked with almost everything else except sports. But that’s how it is. I just want AIK to buck this trend, how I feel is not that important.

Are you worried that you might slip out?

– I’m not worried about it, but we see where we are and we have to reverse that trend. Either through our own training routine here at Karlberg or through player recruitment this summer. We have to get the margins going our way. After ten games you start to see how the table looks and we are second to last. It’s a precarious situation, but I definitely don’t think we’ll get out.

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