Carles Martínez: 'The fans should enjoy our football'

Carles Martínez on...

…his first impression of Bayer 04 and the conversations with the management: "I'm very happy to be here, it's a great honour. Leverkusen is a big club, which is also highly regarded in Spain and France, and which - so it seems from the outside - keeps growing. The people there like the Bundesliga a lot. The conversations with Mr. Wenning  [Werner Wenning, chairman of the shareholders' committee], Fernando (Carro) and Simon (Rolfes) completely convinced me that it's the right move. From the first look at the stadium, I could already imagine how great the games will be here. The conditions and the environment are excellent. I'd start working with the players and staff today if I could, but they deserve a bit more time off (laughs)."

…his way of working: "In football it's always about clear communication and hard work. In training, in the match - every day, every minute on and off the pitch. We need to listen and get to know and understand the players and the staff. I want to push them. That's very important for building a good connection."

…his ideas and philosophy on football: "Of course, I like my team to have the ball and be on the front foot. Leverkusen are traditionally dominant on the pitch, so that fits very well. For that style of play, every minute in every training session is very, very important. At the end of the day, it's about making our fans proud. They should enjoy watching our football."

…his coaching team: "Pol García [34-year-old Spaniard] will be coming with me as assistant coach. I already worked with him at Espanyol and Toulouse. He fascinates me a lot. I'm sure that he'll give this club a huge amount to help it achieve great things. That aside, I'm sure that I'll find an excellent staff here. The past years have demonstrated that. I'm looking forward to getting to know each and every one of them. I want to speak to them all as soon as possible, get to know them and understand them. Every individual is hugely important if we're to create something and be successful."

…his aims with Bayer 04: "To win every match and to aim high in every competitions, that's clear. I always want to win. It's about how we can increase the chance of success in our work as much as possible, to generate confidence and the belief in this group that they can achieve anything. If we do that, anything is possible."

Rolfes on Martínez: 'passion, ambition and courage'

Managing director sport Simon Rolfes on…

…the job done by Kasper Hjulmand and the reasons for a change of coach: "Firstly, we'd like to thank Kasper for his work here. He took over the club during a difficult period in September and brought calm. However, the development of the last few months didn't give us the confidence to go into the new season with the same setup. In order to be able to attain big successes, it's also important for us as Bayer 04 to develop young players. That was an important point, alongside the development of the team, with regards to next season."

…Carles Martínez's work at Toulouse: "We've been following him for a while. Toulouse are a side who struggled to stay in the league with their budget, but Carles managed to bring in consistency while at the same time integrating and developing young players."

…the decision to hire Carles Martínez: "Although it maybe looks like a slightly surprising appointment at first, if you look at Carles' CV and know Bayer 04, there are a lot of similarities. He has that passion and that ambition to develop a team and players further. As well as that, he has the courage to use young players. He coached a very international team in France, like we have here. He also has a background that just fits in very well with us. And ultimately, he really convinced us in the talks with his ideas, personality and temperament. We're very happy that we can sit here together today and welcome him."