Rose: “Focus on the result”

At the digital press conference ahead of Tuesday’s DFB-Pokal match against SV Elversberg (20:45 CET), head coach Marco Rose and sporting director Max Eberl discussed the state of the squad, the upcoming opponents and the week just gone.

Head coach Marco Rose on...

…the state of the squad: Jonas Hofmann will travel with us to Elversberg. He’s now completed three training sessions with the team and is an option to play in the cup match, even if it’s not for the full 90 minutes. On the other hand, Tony Jantschke has told me that he will become a father in the next few hours or days and so he is now staying at home and caring for his family. We had actually planned for him to play, but in this case that joyous occasion is obviously more important. Ramy Bensebaini (positive coronavirus test) and Alassane Plea (hamstring strain) will also miss out.

…the upcoming opposition: Elversberg is a club that has developed constantly over the years. I already know them from my time with the U23s at Mainz 05. Since then they have built a lovely new stadium and they have a really good coach in Horst Steffen. He is a well-renowned tactician who is doing a great job. He has a clear idea of how he wants to play and you can see that in the way that his team sets up. Elversberg produce good football with clear patterns of play, so for us it is about giving it everything once again. Depending on the condition of the pitch, we will have to see what the right approach is. In the Pokal it’s all about making it to the next round. That has to be our aim.

…Marcus Thuram: We have all spoken with Marcus and he spoke to the team himself. He is a part of the team and that is how it will stay. He isn’t proud of what happened and nor are we. We know him personally and will stand by him and support him through everything that rains down on him. Regardless of any ban, he won’t be with us tomorrow. In terms of the suspension, I don’t think we are in any position to make demands or give advice on how long the ban should be. We have spoken publicly about the issue and Tikus has also said that he will accept his punishment. We should leave it at that.

…the past few weeks: The last six weeks haven’t been easy for us. At the start of this block of games we had Inter Milan and Real Madrid ahead of us and we then lost Ramy Bensebaini and Jonas Hofmann, who had been in top form. Alassane Plea has also been sidelined again in recent weeks. We have picked up points despite all that, although not with the consistency that we had hoped for. Above all, we have sometimes failed to take three points even though the opportunity was there. What I’m demanding from my team in Elversberg is that they try with all their might to win this game and that they only focus on the result. That’s what we’ve missed at times in the last few weeks, both in the penalty area and in our general play. The boys have still put a lot of effort in in the last few weeks. They’ve really drained the tank, but there are still a few things that we can work on.

…the short winter break: After the Elversberg match we will speak with the medical staff once more. The players will be checked over, but the plan is for us all to go home briefly. Whether we will be free to move around, we will see. Everyone should use the time in the best way for themselves and I think that a few days’ rest will do us some good and that we will come back fresher. When I return to Mönchengladbach on the 28th or 29th December, I will obviously be happy to be back and see the boys again.

…the Foals’ playing style: Yes, you set up to face each specific opponent, but the way in which we want to play football remains. We don’t want to bow down to our opponents. It’s obvious, though, that one or two mistakes can hurt us. If there is any tiredness then on some days you just have to push past the barriers. That’s what the lads are trying to do. We don’t have to tinker with our playing style in any way - we just have to be more effective, improve in certain areas and have more self-belief.

…the contract extension with Max Eberl: First of all it is important for the club that Max has extended his contract. When you talk about Mönchengladbach, the discussion quickly turns towards Max. He has built this club up over many years. He has managed to help the Foals qualify for Europe on a regular basis, just as we did last season. I am happy for both Max and the club that they will stay together for a few more years to come.

Sporting director Max Eberl on...

…the Foals’ chances in three competitions: If we win the cup tie tomorrow then we can talk about fighting on three fronts in the new year. SV Elversberg will give it everything tomorrow evening to try and pull off an upset, so we have to do our job there first of all. If it’s the case that we win, fantastic. We have dropped a point or two in the Bundesliga, though, and so we are not totally satisfied. But that’s football sometimes, and there are still plenty of games to come in the new year.