Mo Salah’s Trabzonspor make shock U-turn and ACCEPT manager’s resignation less than a week after blocking it

MOHAMED SALAH’s new club Trabzonspor have accepted the “emotional” resignation of head coach Fatih Tekke after the Turkish side initially rejected his request to step down. It was only at the beginning of August that Salah made the move to Turkey. Fatih Tekke decided to walk away from his post after their Europa League exit Credit: Getty Mohamed Salah has actually made a decent start to life in Turkey, but it needs to translate into results Credit: Getty But already they have been knocked down to the Europa Conference League for the new season after a 5-0 Europa League play‑off round aggregate drubbing by Hungarian club Ferencvaros. Tekke, who led Trabzonspor to a third‑place finish in the Super Lig last season, tendered his resignation after the loss. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! However, the club initially rejected it, believing he made the decision under the “intense emotional impact” of the Europa League exit. However, 48 hours on, the Turkish giants have now agreed to part ways with their head coach. In a statement released on Wednesday, Trabzonspor said it reached a “mutual understanding” with Tekke and decided to part ways “in line with Trabzonspor’s interests and long‑term objectives”. The club, which is based in the north-east of Turkey in Trabzon, has put together a real mismatch of stars ahead of the new season, undoubtedly led by Liverpool legend Salah. Another ex-Red, Fabinho, is in the midfield while Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana remains on-loan in goal. The club captain is former Manchester City centre-back Stefan Savic and they also signed World Cup fairytale man Sidny Lopes Cabral, whose wondergoal against Argentina took the eventual finalist to extra-time with Cape Verde this summer. Most read in Sport BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK Salah arrived at the club at the start of August Credit: X It hasn’t been a great start for the club in the league this term with one win, one draw and one loss from their opening encounters. However, Salah is holding up his end of the bargain with three goals in as many games. Despite the rocky past couple of months, Trabzonspor paid tribute to their outgoing manager in a statement. It read: “Over his approximately 18‑month tenure, Fatih Tekke brought significant value to Trabzonspor. “Beyond contributing to the development of the players added to our squad during this period, he delivered important sporting and financial gains for our club. “By bringing the Turkish Cup back to our museum, he once again wrote his name into Trabzonspor’s history. “At this point, we reached a mutual understanding with our coach – who stated he would never allow his presence to harm Trabzonspor in any way – that drawing a new roadmap, prioritising the club’s interests above all else, had become unavoidable. “We thank our coach for his efforts, his dedicated work, the successes he delivered, and the value he added to Trabzonspor.” Comment now