Head coach Daniel Farke spoke to the media during today’s pre-match press conference, as the Foals prepare to host SV Werder Bremen on Friday night (20:30 CET).
Head coach Daniel Farke on...
…the goalkeeping situation: The situation has gotten better, as Jonas Omlin, Jan Olschowsky and Tobias Sippel are all back in training. We need to wait and see how they handle the workload. Jonas is our number one and has played well so far this season. If he can complete our final training session tomorrow, he will start against Bremen."
…squad news: Ramy Bensebaini is still suspended, so he won’t play. Other than that, we’re only missing Tony Jantschke (meniscus tear) and Julian Weigl (partial rupture of syndesmosis ligament). Both of them have been able to complete their first running sessions again. Their recovery is going well. As of right now, we’re hoping that they will be able to return to team training after the game against Köln. That could change, however, because we don’t want to take any unnecessary risks with either of them.
…lessons learned from the Leipzig game: We did well for the most part in Leipzig, but weren’t clinical enough in the box. We didn’t make the most of our clear-cut chances. That’s an area we definitely need to improve in. We also need to stop making mistakes when we build up play from the back. We’re making sure to continue to focus on these things in training.
…the upcoming opponent: Werder are having a good season so far, as a promoted side. Their formation is solid and they complete a lot of intensive runs, both on and off the ball, while they have two dangerous strikers up top. We need to be able to play our game in order to make sure it goes our way. We want to be dominant and set the tone on Friday night, in order to make it clear that we intend to keep all three points in Mönchengladbach.
…the goal for the rest of the Bundesliga season: A couple points could be the difference in moving two or three places in the table by the end of the season. That’s why we will continue to fight for every point. Our final position in the table is important in order for us to be able to build on it in the future. Prior to this season, we said that we wanted to stop the decline we’ve witnessed in recent years and turn things around. That’s why we’re not happy to end the season with the way things are now. We want to pick up as many points as possible and will then see where we are in the end.
…Nathan Ngoumou’s development: Nathan is a young player who came to us from the second division in France. It was clear that we would have to give him a bit of time to become comfortable at Bundesliga level. He has featured 13 times so far, but is yet to be involved in a goal, so he needs to keep working hard. There have been moments in which he has been on a really good track. Recently, we’ve had the impression that he hasn’t always given his all during training. We spoke to him and told him that he has to stand out more and show what he can do. We’ve seen a clear improvement this week already, but his task is to demonstrate this on a consistent basis in training in order to earn his next appearance.”
… Yvandro Borges Sanches: Yvandro has real potential, so we pushed him in pre-season and helped him to his Bundesliga debut. But, he needs to show more consistency in his performances, either in training or for the U23s. You have to earn the right to play through strong performances in training or with the U23s or U19s.
…younger players getting a chance to feature in the season run-in: We have a performance culture. I’m not a fan of simply gifting young players game time. We carry too much responsibility in professional football to just do that. I want us to fight hard right until the very end. As a result, we will always play with our best team. I’m not thinking of next season already. Every player has to earn the minutes they get. Oscar Fraulo has made real steps forward in the few last weeks, so being subbed on in Leipzig wasn't a gift; it was a mark of that. The same goes for Semir Telalovic, who also earned his appearance last weekend through his strong performances in training and with the U23s.
