ROTTERDAM, 30 Sep (SW) - HJK is just one point away from winning the finnish title. Women Soccerway interviewed head coach Jarmo Österlund. Who has been part of the success next to his young players selection.

Hi Jarmo, how is the atmosphere within the ladies department right now?

The atmosphere is very positive, even I have noticed a little extra suspense in some players

If we check down your playerslist, we see a very experienced team, with 5/6 Finnish internationals who shined at Euro 2005 and much experience (Asker, Lazio, Sunnana, Alvsjo). Why did all those players choose for HJK?

Actually my players are not so experienced, the average age of the players is younger than ever in a HJK womensteam (average age is 21). But all the players are very skillfull and many of them are playing in the Finnish national team. We have experienced players on key positions on the field. Virva Junkkari as goal keeper, Tiina Salmen at central defence, Sanna Malaska at central midfield and Jessica Thorn as a striker. Those players came into HJK because HJK offers the best recources in Finland to develop player skills.

Last year your team was toppled by United Pietarsaari. What is the difference with this year? Is HJK better or United Pietarsaari (and also Espoo) worse?

The Finnish league has been very tight this year. All matches have been very difficult. HJK has been more carefull than our leading competitors (Pietarsaari and Espoo) and physically in better shape.

With 21 titles HJK could be called 'the women football institute' in Finland. Still women's football at HJK attracks mostly 100-200 spectators (with exceptions). How can this be changed? Is there still room for improvement, or is this the maximum?

Sure, it is possible to improve the attention of women’s soccer. This year has been very significant for Finnish womensoccer (there was success in the European Championships). People have been more interested this year than ever before in our league. Hopefully that interest could grow in the coming years.

The season 2001-2002 HJK reached the semifinals of the UEFA Cup, after that no Finnish team reached even the quarterfinal? Has the level of play in the Finnish league comparatively gone down?

Unfortunately, yes. The best Finnish players are playing in Sweden were they can play as professional players. That lowers the level in our league. Most talented players are not playing in Finland any more.

Is Europe the main focus of HJK, or is this just a nice extra?

The UEFA Cup is very important for HJK. Is the best way to get visibility, higher attendance and maybe new sponsors. For the players it is also a window to international teams.

Which player in your team have amazed you the most this year?

There are some players who have been very good all season, like Tiina Salmen and Sanna Malaska. But most surprising is our youngest player Katja Riihiaho, who is only fifteen years old. She plays terrific on the left defense position. She will have a great future in this sport.

Which match this year did you see the best of HJK?

The best match was against Espoo a few weeks ago. We won the game reasonably easy with 2-0, eventhough Espoo was good. Every player was like a warrior and wanted to win against the biggest favourites to win the championship. After the game all players knew that they were good enough of to win the title.

How do you see the future of HJK?

Right now the future seems to be good. We have a young team and they are ready to work hard. So in the future we can win championships. We have good junior players coming up, so I’m not worried about the player material. On marketing we have to do more, so we can develop our system to be semi-professional.

Succes in your quest to win the title

The players have done a good job, this season has been perfect.