Seoane ahead of #BMGWOB: “We’re heading into the game with a good feeling”

Ahead of the Foals’ DFB-Pokal game against VfL Wolfsburg on Tuesday (20:45 CET), head coach Gerardo Seoane answered journalists questions. Here are his most important quotes.

Head coach Gerardo Seoane on...

...the squad situation: Luckily, no more players were injured at the weekend. We're hoping that Max Wöber, Julian Weigl and Tomáš Čvančara will be available on Tuesday. It’ll be a test of our patience before we have final confirmation about those three. It’s very possible that one or two decisions will have to be made on the day.

...the importance of the DFB-Pokal: The DFB-Pokal is a great competition with its own rules. We definitely want to get through to the next round are of course dreaming of a trip to Berlin. But it doesn’t help to think about that yet. We have to focus on our task and the game against Wolfsburg. We know how difficult this will be, but we’re playing at home in front of our own fans. That’ll give us special motivation.

...the defensive performance against Hoffenheim: I was pleased with the energy and the will to win that the team defended with. There were just tactical things that we need to improve on. We didn’t always have the defensive compactness we wanted and the gaps were sometimes too big and allowed Hoffenheim too much space. We want to be narrower between the lines against Wolfsburg to put more pressure on the ball and create more counterattacking situations.

...the most recent Bundesliga game against Wolfsburg: When you put in a good performance not long ago against the same opponent, it gives you confidence. We can therefore head into the Pokal game with a good feeling, but nothing more. We’ll be under a lot of pressure on Tuesday, concentrating on our work out of possession against such a strong side. The Bundesliga game three weeks ago gives us an insight into what’s to come, but we’re conscious of the fact that tomorrow’s match will be completely different.

...a possible starting XI appearance for Christoph Kramer: Chris Kramer put in good performances in the last few matches, and his experience really shone through in the final stages of our last game against Hoffenheim. If you miss a few weeks of the game preparation, then you're missing a foundation, but Chris nonetheless regained his momentum through training and the friendly in the international break. He’s back at 100 percent and therefore still an option for the starting eleven.

...Fabio Chiarodia’s development: Fabio needed a good couple of months to properly settle in and carve out his position within the team. He’s a very talented player who has made progress in his work both in and out of possession. When Fabio plays, I feel confident. I do know, however, that a young player is also capable of making the odd mistake. At the weekend, he played two or three good passes in the build-up against Hoffenheim. Despite this, he did have a few difficulties against experienced strikers at a couple of points in the game. Fabio has great potential to develop and we’re impressed with his quality.