Sippel: “I know my role”

Tobias Sippel spoke to the media about his first Bundesliga appearance in a long time, drawing 1-1 with Hertha BSC and his role as the back-up goalkeeper.

Tobias Sippel on... 

...his first appearance in over two and a half years: It was great to play for Borussia in the Bundesliga again. My last appearance was a long time ago, but I wasn’t particularly nervous because of that. I’ve got lots more experience since then so I’m a bit more relaxed in that respect. I’m pleased that I showed that you can rely on me when I’m called upon.

...his view on the game against Hertha: I think we did well, particularly from the point of view of our attitude and fighting spirit. We went into challenges and our defence didn’t give much away. We deserved to win in the end as we put them under some serious pressure in the second half. All in all though, a point is okay, but we’re not getting enough points at home at the moment; we need to start picking up more wins there in the next few weeks.

...the heavy workload at the moment: We’ve had a packed schedule for the last few weeks and we have another couple of busy weeks ahead of us before we can take a breather over Christmas. Rotation or not – we’re all pushing our limits at the moment. You can see that we’re slowly getting more and more fatigued. But that shouldn’t be an excuse – we all need to have another push and get the best out of ourselves.

...clearing the danger as a sweeper keeper: I like being a sweeper keeper, and that’s the role I learnt as a goalkeeper from my time in Kaiserslautern. Obviously there’s some risk attached to it, but I think I made the right decisions as to when to leave my goal. Most of all in the moments against Piatek. Had I not come out of my goal to clear the danger, chances are he would’ve been through one-on-one with me. I stopped that happening.

...possible further appearances: I’ll probably be in goal again for the DFB-Pokal game in Elversberg. Whether I play in the Bundesliga before then depends on when Yann is back fit. When he’s fit again, everyone knows our places.

...his role as back-up goalkeeper: I know my role here at the club. It’s my job to be on my game when I’m needed. Yes, it’s not always great being sat on the bench having to watch all the time, but I chose this role a few years ago. Yann is a great keeper. When he’s fit, he’s the clear number one. That’s why it’s fine for me to play back up.