Hütter: “Need to get back on track”

Head coach Adi Hütter spoke to the press ahead of Saturday’s Bundesliga home game against Union Berlin (15:30 CET), while sporting director Max Eberl was absent due to illness. We have summed up the key points from today's press conference.

Head coach Adi Hütter on...

…the personnel: Chris Kramer will not play tomorrw. He has suffered set-back and hasn’t returned to training yet. Jordan Beyer will also miss out. I think that he will return after the international break. Jonas Hofmann has been back training with the team for a few days now and could be an option tomorrow. We are looking forward to having him back, although we cannot expect him to be our saviour immediately, given that he’s been out for several weeks.

…the performance against Hannover: In Hannover, we threw away our chance to achieve something big. We did a lot of things badly and have discussed that in detail. We have to defend better and attack more quickly. I'm expecting a reaction tomorrow.

...the situation on the pitch: This is the toughest situation I’ve ever faced during my 13 years as a head coach. But, things don’t always go the way you want them to. Moments of crisis are part and parcel of the game. Right now, it’s about giving the team constructive criticism and showing them solutions. We're giving it our all to turn the right screws and get things moving in the right direction again. We're in a situation in the Bundesliga where we need to fight our way out. We have to take on this fight.

…the problems in defence: It's too easy to score against us at the moment. Maybe we have to sit back a little more in order to bring the team some more stability and security. That's not really my style of play, but sometimes you have to go down different routes.

…the current situation: Successful football means playing well in attack and defence. We've been able to spread the ball around well in several games this season, but given our situation, we can't just focus solely on our play on the ball. We need to cause problems, run hard, fight and set the pace – if we manage that, then things will start working on the ball again.

…the criticism directed his way: I'm aware of the criticism and it's justified. However, I'm looking ahead and want to repay the faith shown in me and get out of this difficult situation together with the team.

…the upcoming opponents: Union Berlin are very tight and tactically disciplined. The team have good running numbers, are compact in defence and are ambitious going forward. Their style of play in a 5-3-2 is simple, but very good and effective. It’s not for nothing that they are currently so high up in the table.

…the ill and injured players: We're always having to do without important players at the wrong times, such as Jonas Hofmann and Christoph Kramer currently. That's not an excuse, but we're constantly forced to chop and change our team.

… Denis Zakaria: Denis Zakaria is the most natural number 6 that we have. He's fast and he's good in duels. The transfer window is currently open, and it’s possible that he will still leave the club. Purely from a sporting point of view, it obviously wouldn't be good if he left us during this window.

…new signing Marvin Friedrich: I wasn't too impressed with Marvin Friedrich against Hannover compared to how he did on his debut against Leverkusen, but as a team on the whole we were too passive in defence. He is a new player who still has to find his feet, but he's a fantastic person who fits the squad well.