AGF coach acknowledges problems but sees signs of progress

Four points from seven matches is not good enough for a defending champion, AGF coach Jakob Poulsen acknowledged after his team drew 2-2 with Silkeborg.

AGF appeared headed for a fourth straight defeat in all competitions when Silkeborg led 2-0 with only a few minutes remaining. Substitute Janni Serra changed the ending with two late goals, sparing the home side another heavy round of jeers after the halftime whistle.

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Right now, it is uphill, but I still think we are on the right track. I still think you can see that opponents have difficulties with us. We need to be sharper at scoring and closing down.

Poulsen nevertheless said he could see signs of progress. “Right now, it is uphill, but I still think we are on the right track,” he told Viaplay. He said opponents continued to have problems dealing with AGF, but the team needed to be sharper when scoring and defending.

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Of course, none of us thinks this is fun. We know that we need to start winning some football matches.

The coach also rejected the idea that his players had given up. “Of course, none of us thinks this is fun. We know that we need to start winning some football matches,” he said. But he pointed to the late comeback as evidence that the team was not resigned to its situation.

AGF lost only three matches and dropped points 13 times during its title-winning season. A little more than one-fifth into the new campaign, the team has already lost three matches and is still waiting for its first victory.

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But I still do not see a team that has given up. The ending says it all. If we had given up, we would never have come back in a match like that.