Steffi Jones: "A very bitter lesson"

The farewell came too soon. This morning head coach Steffi Jones and her team are heading home from the European Championship in the Netherlands after losing 2-1 to Denmark in their quarterfinal on Sunday. The Germany coach speaks about the reasons for the defeat and the lessons to be learnt.

Question: How are you feeling the morning after the quarterfinal exit?

Steffi Jones: On the hand we feel very disappointed. That feeling is still there today. The team agreed very clearly that the performance wasn't good. I also said that it was a very bitter lesson for us. We had, of course, imagined much more. We wanted to go a long way and develop further as a team. Obviously, we're not happy with this and, obviously, we want to be successful. What's important now is what we take from this.

Question: What can you learn from this tournament?

Jones: The coaching team will analyse and address this tournament and how it has gone for us. Every player will ask themselves questions in hindsight and we, as coaches, will do the same. What could I have done differently or better and what do I now need to work on? First we need one or two days to work all this out. It's a bitter pill to have to swallow.

Question: Was is a mental thing?

Jones: That's an obvious conclusion to draw, but first I need to analyse the tournament and the matches.

Question: How hard will it be for you to address these questions tomorrow and in the coming days?

Jones: It won't be hard because that's my job. It's always nicer when you've been successful, but it's more important to address these issues when you've lost.

Question: What are you personally going to take from this tournament?

Jones: I will, of course, not excuse myself from taking responsibility. I'm the first one who makes the decisions. In the next few days I will take a look at myself and analyse what I did deeply. We want to continue to be successful and we will do that, but it's a process. We'll look at the facts.

Question: Did the European Championship come too early?

Jones: I've never listed how many players stopped playing after the Olympic Games or how many players weren't at this tournament because of injury. For me, those were never reasons for us to deviate from our aim because I believe in the potential in this team. I don't want to look for excuses. I was always convinced that we could go a long way. That was always our aspiration. I'm willing and motivated to continue on this journey, but we'll analyse that with the DFB in the next few days.

Question: Have you already spoken to President Reinhard Grindel?

Jones: Of course, we spoke on the phone on Sunday evening. I totally understand why the DFB want to know why we exited the competition. How should we move on from this and how to be get back on the success trail? I will have to show how and then continue. It's a process which was never short-term.

Question: How important is the support of the players?

Jones: That is very important and nice to hear. You want this support as a coach: that the team itself is reflecting, but also sticking behind me. I had a lot of conversations directly after the game, particularly with the team council, who I've always had a good relationship with.

Question: What do you say about the favourites going out of the European Championship?

Jones: We've seen at this tournament that other teams have caught up. That's nothing new, we could see it coming. Austria is blossoming and the Netherlands is being carried along by the euphoria - perhaps all the way to the title.