SK Brann, Erik Huseklepp | Huseklepp reveals Brann’s obsession: – Then we can get quite angry

MARBELLA (Nettavisen): From the Obos league to promotion, cup gold and league silver.

It is 2023 summed up for Brann.

Last year was a giant upswing after relegation and chaotic conditions the year before. In Bergen, there is now greater harmony than anyone can remember, before the city’s football pride goes out and fights for new medals and European games.

– There is good harmony in the group, said assistant coach Erik Huseklepp at the end of February after a long and successful training camp in Spain.

You can see everything from the OBOS league, as well as a number of matches from the Eliteserien at Nettavisen on Direktesport.

The former Brann star and TV expert is an important part of Eirik Horneland’s team in Brann. He talks about a club that is constantly looking to develop further and take the next step.

– We are hungry to stabilize ourselves as a top team. It is the motivation to be at the top every single year and I think Brann should be at the top every single year, but it is not often that you have managed to do that.

– Then we can get quite upset

Now it is no longer talked about in big words about “the gold going to hell”. In Brann, the sporting management has been clear that they wanted to create a new culture in the quest to stabilize Brann as a top team in Norway.

– We feel we are in a good place.

– It is a group of players who have good harmony, who have great faith in Brann and the way we do it. You don’t need to ask them to do everything possible, Huseklepp explains.

Where in Bergen in the past there may have been so much talk about the final goal, now the process and development along the way are just as important. The communication from Huseklepp and the rest of the club also suggests that everyone has bought the message.

– We run this in a way where we get angry at those who don’t try. We don’t get mad at those who fail. We are very concerned about it. If you stand with your hat in your hand – then we can get quite angry. If you try and fail, we say “try again”. We have been very concerned about this, he explains.

That the motivation and the ultimate goal is to stabilize Brann as a stable top team in Norway shines through. Huseklepp points out that it has not been that often that Brann has been able to do so over time.

– It drives us. The players have acquired a strong taste for winning something together. We are a collective that enjoys each other’s achievements. It helps to make things easier, he says.

– Then you get the whole of Bergen with you

Although Brann took an impressive 2nd place last year, Huseklepp is honest about where the club currently stands in the hierarchy in Football-Norway.

– I want us to be a top team. Financially, Bodø/Glimt and Molde have slightly different resources than us. But it doesn’t always work out, but they basically have a better foundation. But we will try to beat them, then we will see where it ends, he says.

– Do you fear the tough “second season” after a promotion?

– If we fear it, it increases the chance that it will actually happen and we will have a downturn. It would have been incredibly fun if we managed to fight at the top and break into a group stage in Europe, it would have done wonders for us sportingly and financially.

Next Monday, Brann will open the series against Tromsø in what will be a tough away game for the Bergens. In Bergen, they are now experiencing enormous anticipation before the new season kicks off.

– We must stand for offensive and positive football that excites our audience. It has been very important for the journey we have made, because then you get the whole of Bergen along, he says.