After training on Thursday morning, new signing Manu Koné spoke to the media in Harsewinkel-Marienfeld. The French midfielder talked about…
…his current situation: I’m slowly getting better. I’ve still got a few small pains, but I think I’ll be back on the pitch in three or four weeks. I’m doing a lot of strength training for my knee at the moment and I’ll start running again next week. I believe in my quality and I’m confident that I can help the team when I’m fit again.
…the team: I’m happy here. I can speak French to Ramy Bensebaini and Alassane Plea, and a bit of English with the rest. It’s going well so far, but things will be better in a few months.
…his style of play: I can play anywhere in the centre of midfield. I’m very physical defensively and dynamic going forward. I’ve also got a good shot, although I can improve on that for sure.
…competition for places: I knew that there are players here who are really good like Denis Zakaria, Christoph Kramer and Florian Neuhaus. That’s why I chose to come here. I want to test myself against players like these. Ultimately, the coach will be the one to decide who plays.
…his first contact with Borussia: Max Eberl and Steffen Korell got in touch with me in December last year. They had watched me play and said that I have a lot of potential and that I could fulfill that here in Mönchengladbach. That convinced me to join.
…the difference between Ligue 2 and the Bundesliga: I know that it’s going to be a big step up – I’ve already noticed that in training. However, I believe in my strengths and I’ll hopefully be able to establish myself in the Bundesliga.
…his personal goals: First of all, I want to integrate quickly. Then I would like to play as many games as possible.
…looking forward to playing at BORUSSIA-PARK: I saw games two years ago when the stadium was full. The atmosphere was really impressive. I can’t wait for it to be completely sold out once again.
…his role as captain at Toulouse: There were six ‘leaders’ at Toulouse and the coach wanted a young player to be one of those, which was me. He then decided that I should be captain. I gladly take on responsibility on the pitch, that’s why I was named captain.
…narrowly missing out on promotion with Toulouse: I was obviously really gutted that we didn’t go up. We only missed out because of a solitary goal, but that’s just how football goes sometimes.
