Skip to content

Finke plays down reports

Image: Stale Solbakken: Cologne have lost six of their last seven Bundesliga matches

Cologne general manager Volker Finke has no ambition to become boss of the club and Stale Solbakken is under no pressure.

Solbakken not under any pressure at Cologne

Cologne general manager Volker Finke has no ambition to become boss of the club and insists current coach Stale Solbakken is not under any pressure. Solbakken joined the club at the start of the season from Copenhagen in Denmark, but his position has come under scrutiny amid the threat of Bundesliga relegation. Cologne currently sit 14th in the table and have lost six of their last seven matches to slump down the table and provide momentum for the rumour mill. Speculation has suggested former Urawa Red Diamonds boss Finke, who joined Cologne in January 2011, will replace Solbakken, but the general manager is adamant there is no truth in the reports.

Absurd

Finke told Rheinische Post: "It's absurd to say there is serious pressure on the manager. The manager is safe. "It is as absurd that similar rumours link me with a straight return to management. And I am very angry that people act as if I am looking to become a manager again. "I would be unable to work alongside a manager in my current job and give him the necessary support if I was keen on getting back to that role myself."
Geromel
Meanwhile, Cologne captain Pedro Geromel's agent has indicated the 26-year-old could consider leaving the club at the end of the season, despite his contract running until the summer of 2014. Representative Christiano Faria told Express: "It is a fact that we are to think things over."

Around Sky