Roger Schmidt commented on the alleged interest in him from Bundesliga clubs during the weekly press conference on Friday afternoon. The PSV coach has been associated with Eintracht Frankfurt and recently with Hertha BSC in recent weeks, but seems to have set his sights on a stay in Eindhoven. Moreover, the question is whether the technical management of PSV is willing to let Schmidt go just like that. Schmidt signed a two-year contract when he was appointed in Eindhoven last year.
During the press conference in the run-up to Saturday night’s home game against FC Groningen, Schmidt was asked about the rumors about a possible return to the Bundesliga. Previously, he was active at the highest level in Germany as a trainer of Bayer Leverkusen. “In Germany many clubs are looking for a coach, but I will not respond to rumors every time. There are always. I made the decision last year that PSV is the best option for me and I am happy to be here. work, ”Schmidt told, quoted by it Eindhovens Dagblad.
True BILD reported about Frankfurt’s interest in Schmidt a month ago, Hertha also seems to be interested in the German trainer. At Hertha, Pal Dardai is currently still in charge as head coach. The former player of the Berlin club was appointed in January as successor to the fired Bruno Labbadia. Eintracht is looking for a successor for Adi Hütter, who will make the switch to Borussia Mönchengladbach at the end of the season. Ajax coach Erik ten Hag was also associated with Frankfurt this week.
According to Schmidt, there is still enough to play for at PSV. “We are currently in the race for second place. We want to secure it in order to reach Champions League football. That is the goal now. For that we have to play good matches and put together a balanced selection for later. A good selection. gives the greatest chance to get the highest. We need an even better squad next season than this season. We need outside players, no doubt. “
Schmidt does not dare to predict whether he will still have access to Mario Gotze next year. Sky Deutschland reported last week that the attacker alludes to a departure from Eindhoven, as he has switched from agent. Götze has included a clause in his contract with PSV that allows clubs from the major leagues to take him over for a fixed amount. “I cannot speak for him, but my feeling is that he is happy here and that PSV has been a good step for him,” said Schmidt. “Unfortunately he had some injuries and that slowed down the process of his development. I am convinced that we have good chances of him playing here again next season.”
PSV is preparing for the match against Groningen with a fit selection. Some of the players who were sick have returned and are fit enough to play. As a result, Schmidt only misses the long-term absentees: Mauro Júnior, Ryan Thomas, Érick Gutiérrez, Maximiliano Romero and Richard Ledezma. Groningen, on the other hand, announced on Friday that it would travel without Arjen Robben. The former PSV player made his comeback two weeks ago against sc Heerenveen (0-2 loss), but is not fit enough to play against PSV. The injured Bart van Hintum is also missing from the Groningers.