Hasan Arat provides update on managerial search: 'We will not rush'

Beşiktaş President Hasan Arat, who also serves on the World Athletics Executive Board, made statements to the press at the EXPO 2016 site in Antalya, where he arrived for the World Race Walking Championships.

Starting his remarks by stating that Antalya is hosting a very important organization, President Arat noted that young people should be encouraged more in this sport. Arat also expressed his belief that Turkey will successfully complete this event.

"WE WILL CERTAINLY REACH OUR GOAL IN THE TURKISH CUP"

Speaking about the current situation of the Beşiktaş football team, Hasan Arat said, "Football must always go well. In the MKE Ankaragücü match we played on Friday evening, more important than the score was the moment when Muçi was lying on the ground and Tayyip Talha Sanuç intervened. That was when Beşiktaş became a team. That was the moment I desired. That is why I thank my team. I expect them to fight like this always. There was a Beşiktaş that was pressing even in the 80th minute. We will certainly reach our goal in the Turkish Cup. We are ready for all kinds of motivation for this. Our team is also ready. Our team will make amends to the Beşiktaş fans by winning the Turkish Cup. I think this is an important opportunity. We have 3 matches ahead of us. Hopefully, Beşiktaş will win the cup," he stated.

Explaining that players coming from the youth academy are performing successfully, Arat said, "Al-Musrati, Muçi, Worrall, and Svensson played very well in the last match. One of the things that made me happiest was Mustafa Erhan Hekimoğlu entering the match. Demir Ege Tıknaz took control of the pitch as soon as he entered. We have Ersin Destanoğlu in goal, Semih Kılıç, and Serkan Emrecan Terzi played. We have 5-6 players from the youth academy who are capable of playing on the pitch. This shows the strength of Beşiktaş. I think Beşiktaş will reach a good place with good reinforcements," he said.

MANAGERIAL SEARCH CONTINUES

Underlining that they are continuing their search for a head coach, President Arat said, "Our work regarding the coach continues. Especially before Fernando Santos arrived, I had gone through a heavy traffic of meetings. I do not intend to meet again with many of the friends from that traffic of meetings. First of all, frankly, our focus is on the success of coach Serdar (Topraktepe). Our main goal is to see the success of coach Serdar. We will decide after seeing that. We will not rush because we have good work underway. All of the work will be finished before going to camp. Transfer work is the same. We have a good transfer committee. This committee is working very hard. We know our deficiencies and we also know the players who will leave. This has been worked on more or less. Our only concentration right now is the Turkish Cup. Good things will happen at Beşiktaş. We have gone through very difficult days. We must be sincere. It has been 4 months since we arrived. In these 4 months, we have experienced many difficulties in terms of score and football. It is not a matter that can be easily overcome. Think of the shock experienced by the new management. I think the athletes are now aware of this. I think we will pull this together," he said.

Hasan Arat answered the question regarding the future of Cameroonian striker Vincent Aboubakar as follows:

"Aboubakar is working. He is doing what is necessary. We will decide on his future planning together with the coaches. As a former athlete myself, I do not find it right to speak negatively about any of my athletes. The leagues have not been completed yet. He is a player on my team. We gave the necessary warnings for Aboubakar at the time. The decisions we made were correct. We have no regrets about the decisions we made. Those correct decisions and warnings brought many results with them. When we look at Ghezzal today, he changed his contract. Ghezzal has been playing very well in the last matches. He has truly taken on leadership in the team. I think Aboubakar will also get himself back on track."

Stating that the Beşiktaş Men's Basketball Team's dream of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague continues, Arat said, "I met with the EuroLeague CEO last week. We are still on the waiting list. If it doesn't happen this year, we definitely want to be there next year. Beşiktaş's passion for the European League in basketball has not ended and will not give up. We can do this if the technical facilities are available. I know very clearly that we are on the list right now. We expressed to them that we are ready for a wildcard. Our men's basketball team narrowly missed out on the European Cup. The play-offs will start soon. I believe our men's basketball team will be successful. I am also proud of our Women's Basketball Team. We should have won the cup, it slipped through our fingers. I think I will continue our investment in women's basketball within the same framework next year," he said.

SALIHA ŞAHİN TRANSFER

Stating that they transferred national athlete Saliha Şahin in volleyball yesterday, Hasan Arat said, "Saliha's arrival is a very important sign. This was in my election campaign. If fate permits in the future, we may also establish a women's handball team," he announced.