Trabzonspor have moved to keep hold of head coach Fatih Tekke after he offered his resignation in the wake of a heavy European exit, with the club describing his decision as driven by raw emotion rather than reasoned judgement.
The Super Lig outfit crashed out of the Europa League play-off round on Thursday, losing 4-0 away to Ferencvaros in Hungary to fall 5-0 on aggregate. The scale of the defeat appeared to hit Tekke hard, and shortly after the final whistle he informed the club of his intention to step down.
However, Trabzonspor's board declined to accept the offer on Friday morning, issuing a statement attributing the 48-year-old's move to the "intense emotional impact" of the elimination rather than any deeper rift or loss of confidence in his project. The club's stance suggests they still view Tekke, who guided Trabzonspor to a third-place league finish last season, as the right man to lead the team going forward.
As a consequence of the aggregate defeat, Trabzonspor will now drop into the Europa Conference League rather than continuing in the Europa League. The club were due to learn the identity of their six league-phase opponents in that competition on Friday.
The setback in Hungary comes despite an eventful and high-profile summer in the transfer market for the seven-time Turkish champions. Trabzonspor made global headlines by signing Mohamed Salah after the Egyptian forward's exit from Liverpool, a move that stunned much of the football world given his status as one of the Premier League's most decorated players of the past decade. Salah leaves Anfield as the third-highest goal scorer in Liverpool's history, trailing only Ian Rush and Roger Hunt, having netted 257 times in 442 appearances since arriving from Roma in 2017.
Alongside Salah, Trabzonspor also brought in fellow Premier League title winner Fabinho, while goalkeeper Andre Onana has returned to the club on a season-long loan from Manchester United. The recruitment drive reflected the ambition of a club aiming to build on last term's strong domestic showing and challenge more seriously on multiple fronts this season.
Salah wasted little time making an impact on the pitch, scoring twice in Trabzonspor's 2-1 league win over Istanbul Basaksehir last weekend to mark his first goals for the club. That victory offered an early sign that the marquee signing could quickly become central to the team's attacking output as the campaign develops.
Despite the promise shown domestically, Thursday's European humbling exposed vulnerabilities that Tekke and his players will now need to address, particularly if Trabzonspor are to make a genuine push in the Conference League and maintain their competitive standing in the Super Lig. The manner of the aggregate defeat to Ferencvaros will likely prompt scrutiny of the squad's readiness for sustained continental competition, even as the club publicly backs its coach.
With the resignation rebuffed, attention now turns to how Tekke responds on the training ground and whether the club's faith is repaid with improved results. Trabzonspor's Conference League league-phase draw will shape the immediate road ahead, while domestic form and the continued integration of high-profile new arrivals like Salah, Fabinho and Onana will remain closely watched storylines throughout the season.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.