New possibilities and a chance to play

The past months haven’t been the best period of time for Thomas Rogne. After his contract with IFK Goteborg expired, the player reached an agreement with Lech Poznań. However, he still hasn’t played in a single league match. “Of course, it hasn’t been a great time for me. I joined the club mid-season during the winter break. The team was in a match rhythm, meanwhile I hadn’t played for two months. It wasn’t easy to win a spot in the starting line-up; there are great defenders here at Lech and I was injured. Nevertheless, I spent the time adapting to the team and the city,” explained the footballer.

The Norwegian is ambitious and his goal is to be a part of the first eleven. The past few months, Emir Dilaver, Nikola Vujadinovic and Rafal Janicki competed for Lech regularly. Meanwhile, Rogne tried to stay in good shape and played for the reserves’ team in a couple of matches . “It was a chance for me to remain in the match rhythm. It meant a lot to me since I had a break and I wanted to appear on the pitch again. In football you need to stay prepared for situations like this one, wait patiently for your chance, and whenever you get one, you need to give it all,” emphasised the defender.

Rogne has been praising his teammates. During the recent sparring match against Warta Poznań, Vernon De Marco, Rafal Janicki, and Maciej Orlowski defended Lech’s goal. Nikola Vujadinovic is still recovering from an injury. “We have a strong squad. All the players are very good. However, the most important thing is that we don’t have first-choice and second-choice players. Every one of us has a chance to play and the coach has the comfort of many footballers at his disposal. The rivalry in the squad is very positive,” explained the 27-year-old.

The new coach could mean a fresh start for the Norwegian defender. Ivan Djurdjevic has recently taken over Lech’s senior team. The Serbian coach previously managed the reserves’ team where he met Rogne. “I played a couple of games for the coach. He’s a great manager. He hasn’t been coaching us for long, only two weeks, so it’s too early for thorough analysis. The training sessions have a high intensity. The coach spends a lot of time making sure we believe in ourselves. I think he is very skilled at communication; he is direct and honest, something I personally like,” added the player. “It’s an important time for me – a new coach, a new season, new possibilities and a chance to play again. I want to make the most out of it,” explained Rogne.