It is four months to the day since Jens Askou was presented as the new coach for IFK Gothenburg. In the presentation on the website, the then 40-year-old Dane was described as a person who thrives on the sharp image of demands and the pressure from outside. At least that’s what technical director Ola Larsson said about his latest recruitment.
When the autumn cold has now arrived in Gothenburg, it is hard to say that Larsson was not right.
With five rounds remaining, only three points separate IFK Göteborg from the qualification spot, but still there are hardly any experts, coaches, supporters or players left who believe that the team risks relegation to the super one.
– There is not so much stress and so many thoughts about how to fix everything all the time. Now it’s more about how to stay sharp and get better. Now we can focus on one thing at a time, instead of repairing six or seven things at the same time. There is a little more calm in everyday life, says Jens Askou.
It was only a few meters away from the meeting room at Kamratgården, where we are now sitting for the interview, that Askou held his first press conference as Blåvitt coach on June 7.
At the time, IFK Göteborg was in a negative qualifying position.
– It was exciting. Exactly as I had expected. A hell of a challenge, but I like challenges and always have. The challenge was great – and still is. It was educational and developmental for everyone in the organization. Both how we should do to avoid getting there again, but also what keeps us on the right course. Sometimes you learn the most when life is hard.
But there was no immediate success for Askou. Just a few days into his new assignment, Blåvitt was drawn against IK Sirius. It was a 0-2 loss and a performance that left a lot to be desired. In connection with the final whistle, voices were raised from supporters who wanted to see club director Håkan Mild leave his post.
– It wasn’t the team I wanted to show in the match against Sirius, but I had just started and I was also part of what needed to be fixed. I was direct and clear in my communication about it. As a leader, you cannot sit on the bench and give up when setbacks occur. You have to dare to stand at the front and take criticism, says Jens Askou.
How easy was it?
– It was never easy. In that situation and in an organization like this, there are many people that I need to show the way. You need to show with your body language, attitude and whole charisma so that the players trust us in the management team. It is never easy, but I think it is easier if you have experienced many setbacks in your life, both as a player and a coach.
How?
– Some players or coaches are blessed with great natural talent, while others have to work a little extra to get by. I have built my coaching career from the third league to the second league and the Danish Superliga, going to the Faroe Islands and coming back. Go out, go up, go out and go up. Then you learn a lot along the way. For me, it has been good that everything has not come so easily.
In the season’s first 16 Allsvenskan matches, IFK Göteborg won a single one. In the last eleven games, they have only lost one. In August, Jens Askou took home the award as coach of the month and he is also nominated in September’s ditto.
What has really happened since the summer? Askou refuses to single out a single factor.
– There are so many things. It’s not just that we’ve brought someone back from injury that’s done well, that we’ve signed players or that “Mackan” (Marcus Berg) was there when we needed him most. All those things are important, but we have worked a lot on our mentality and been extremely direct in our communication about the discipline.
In our nearly hour-long conversation, we often come back to the word discipline. That order and behavior was something Jens Askou quickly identified as an area for improvement when he came to the association is not something he glories in.
– It was also an assignment I was given. We have to behave more like a top team and a top club, in general. There are still things we can improve on and we will over time. Sometimes you have to remind the players: “What was the point here?” Sometimes they forget what is okay and what is not. Then you have to lie on it so that it doesn’t run out into the sand. Everything to maintain the discipline and culture around the team at all times.
Where did you experience the lack of discipline when you arrived?
– You have to set your own parameters for what hard work is. When I came here, we thought it was more than what had been done so far, in general terms. If you don’t live up to it, you communicate it, but if it doesn’t get better, there must be a consequence. For example, not being part of the match squad, being allowed to play as much as the others or having to run extra. It’s old school stuff, but it works.
Was it difficult to come in and set that bar right away?
– No not at all. It’s been quite natural, but it’s always more fun to be able to say “good job” instead of what’s not good. Those who do it and show the way for the others should be lifted in front of the group. We want to highlight what is good behavior, but also what is not. What we don’t find acceptable doesn’t exist much anymore.
Did it take time to get the players on that train?
– I actually think it went quite quickly. It often does, because everyone wanted to achieve more than what we had done. I feel that most people enjoy high standards, but you also have to lift up those who do well. For me, it is at least as important to highlight it.
Hussein Carneil, 20, walks past on the outside of Kamratgården, but stops and lights up his whole face when he sees his coach through the glass window. They both gesture and joke with their body language before the talent moves on to the parking lot and heads home for the day.
In some areas, Jens Askou believes that he is a trainer of the old school, but at the same time also far from the one who directs and oversees the entire operation. Among other things, the playing squad came early with a request to change the training times for the match preparation exercises.
– It was actually some of the players who had talked about it. We had extended some days so that they were a little longer than before – and we also started training with a little higher intensity. Then they asked if it was possible to get an extra hour of sleep the day before the match. We looked at it and for me there was no problem. We discussed it, did it and it has worked well.
Since then, all Blåvitts’ training starts the day before the match at 11.30 instead of 10.30.
– It was one of the things we discussed that could give us something for the matches. In the beginning, they would get used to training quite a lot in the beginning of the weeks, which they may not have been used to. Some could sense a bit of fatigue at the end of the weeks, so that was an adjustment we could make.
In Askou’s previous club AC Horsens, the team trained in the center of the city, outside the match arena. Some contrasts with Kamratgården, which is located around the Delsjö area in eastern Gothenburg.
– I love nature and being able to experience it together with work is very special. The open training sessions allowed supporters to come here and applaud the players when we needed it the most, but perhaps deserved it the least. Feeling that has been a very good feeling for me and us.
But the open training sessions were initially unusual for the 41-year-old.
– Sometimes you might think it would be good to close when we practice fixed situations or tactical things. It is a balance that must be found. I like that the association has chosen to be open, but sometimes it could be nice to be able to close a bit the day before a match.
Have you wished to be able to close certain trainings?
– No, but maybe it is something we will discuss after the season. If you can optimize something there. As I have experienced it, there are more advantages than disadvantages to having open practices, but over time we may be able to optimize everything.
Askou remembers back to last summer, when hundreds of supporters gathered around the training sessions to support the team when it was at its hardest.
– In that period, it also provided an opportunity for supporters who were unsure of how we would resolve the situation. Then they could come here and see a team that trained well. Get an insight into everything, be part of everyday life, talk to us and look us in the eye. It means that we are not separated from each other in adversity, he says and continues:
– It is a strength for IFK Gothenburg. Who knows how it would have gone if we had been a more closed association? What had it done to the support in the association’s most difficult time in many years?
What is it like to live in Gothenburg?
– I enjoy myself very well. There are many people close to me and in the association who have taken care of me in a fantastic way. I feel a great sense of togetherness and camaraderie. As a coach, you can’t get to know all the supporters personally, but I feel the support. Even when people have visited the town, it has been very positive.
Jens Askou now lives alone in an apartment in Gothenburg. At home in Herning in Denmark, wife Rikke and the family remain, 60 miles from Gothenburg.
– It is difficult and not straightforward, but we try to make the best of it. You can’t have a family life in Denmark and be a coach for an association like IFK Gothenburg at the same time, so it has to work well. My wife and kids have been great at making room for me. I think we’re good at that, making room for what we’re passionate about, but also holding on to what we have together. I still love being a family when we can. It is a challenge, but also a challenge that we solve in a good way.
Jens Askou falls silent for a few seconds, is not unmoved when he talks about missing his three children Augusta, 13, Cornelius, 15, and Julius, 17. The latter follows in his father’s footsteps and is a promising centre-back talent in Odense BK’s Academy.
– They are in the middle of teenage life, so it is not that easy to just move them around. It is as it is. We miss each other, but I am also proud and satisfied that we are making it work.
What do you do with your alone time?
– I like to walk and run to keep my body moving. I read a little and play the guitar at home. Go for a walk in town or run out to Delsjön and maybe swim a little there.
Is it too cold now?
– Nah. Maybe I’ll do it as a winter shower. It is good!
He adds:
– I have not been to Liseberg. I was going there when the kids were here last summer, but then it was too much rain. But we have decided that we will do it. I look forward to it.
The contract with IFK Gothenburg extends over another three seasons. When asked what is reasonable to achieve, Jens Askou does not hesitate for a second.
– We have the potential for much more than what we have done this year and I think we will see that over time. I think we will have a better season next year. Together with the supporters, I think we can get this team to play for top positions in the Allsvenskan. Then we’ll see how fast it goes. It won’t happen this year, but if we can continue our development, we will be a very tough team to face next year.
– You can’t always control how quickly everything will go, but there are many good thoughts, ideas and elaborate strategies for how we will be even better in the future. I am very much looking forward to it.
2023-10-07 07:45:00
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