Lainer: “The relief is enormous.”

Following the 3-0 win over FC Schalke 04, Stefan Lainer sat down to discuss the end of the losing streak, his headed goal, and the aims for the rest of the season.

Stefan Lainer on…

…the end of the negative run of form: The relief is enormous. It was extremely important for us to get a win before the upcoming international break. Our performances haven’t always been bad in recent games, but it’s all about results in this business and our results simply weren’t good enough. We’ve been struggling, but now we’ve won an important game and that’s given us a positive feeling again. We have to take that feeling with us and build on it in the next game against Freiburg.

…his headed goal: It was a set piece we’d practised beforehand and it’s the second time it’s worked for us this season. It’s always nice when something like that works well. Hoffi takes very good corners and likes to put it at the near post sometimes. I timed my run well so it wasn’t easy for the defender. He tried to get in front of me but the ball went over him and I was able to finish. It was perfectly executed and was important for the team.

…the aims for the rest of the season: We’ve now managed to win a game which is crucial to bringing an end to this negative streak. But it was just one game and we need to turn it into a positive trend; that’s the only way we will be able to move up the table again. We have to take the things we did well yesterday and build on them in upcoming games.

…the team’s relationship with Marco Rose: The relationship with the coach is no different to before. Marco is very straight-talking and addresses things clearly. He informed us of his decision and we have accepted it, so there wasn’t much of an internal discussion. There’s a clear line and it was always clear that we want to be successful together with the coach until the end of the season. Yesterday’s victory was the first step in that. The atmosphere has been stormy of late, but Max Eberl has kept his cool well which is something that sets him apart from others. I hope that we can repay the trust put in us and bring this season to a successful end.