Head coach Adi Hütter and sporting director Roland Virkus spoke to the media ahead of Saturday’s away game against VfB Stuttgart (18:30 CET). Read on for a summary of the most important quotes from today’s press conference.
Head coach Adi Hütter on…
…the squad: Tony Jantschke is available again, but Marvin Friedrich won’t be fit in time for the weekend. Ramy Bensebaini trained indoors today and we assume that he will be able to play. Lars Stindl’s rehab is proceeding right on schedule. We are easing him back into team training, but it will be some time still before he will be back on the pitch. He’s missed a lot of weeks already, so it’s a question of being patient.
…a midfield pivot: We can benefit from both Chris Kramer’s experience and Manu Koné’s cheekiness. It’s a tough decision to have to bench one of them. Maybe both of them will play together in Stuttgart. I haven’t decided yet if Flo Neuhaus will move up into the number 10 role. He’s more of a defensive midfielder, but he’s learned a lot recently, his running has improved and he’s winning a lot of challenges.
…the importance of the upcoming games against Stuttgart and Hertha: The best-case scenario would obviously be if we win both games. Of course we wanted to also pick up three points against Wolfsburg, but we can build on our performance. I liked seeing how we fought back from 2-0 down and tried to win the game. In our current situation, it’s important that we bring stability and compactness into our game. We don’t want to be forced back, nor do we want to be lured out.
…the upcoming opponent: In my opinion, Stuttgart don’t deserve to be as far down in the table as they are. They have been a bit unlucky lately, such as against Hoffenheim where they were dominating the game before conceding two late goals. They have a lot of quality, pace and a good squad with plenty of options to choose from.
…Alassane Plea’s development: Lasso has been working even harder in training and we also spoke to him individually. He did a great job analysing that discussion and took it to heart, which we’ve seen on the pitch. Since the Bielefeld game, he’s been in really strong form, which is good for us as a team.
…goals off the bench: It’s important that our substitutes have an impact on the game. As a result, I’m bothered by the fact that our subs haven’t scored that often off the bench – it’s unfamiliar territory for me. The fact that Breel Embolo was able to come off the bench against Wolfsburg and bring his goal drought to an end was very important.
…being effective from set pieces: We have managed to create several chances from set pieces, but have just narrowly missed hitting the target. If we had been able to take these chances, then we would definitely be looking at a different situation in the table. I don’t think it’s because of who takes our set pieces, because I think Jonas Hofmann has done a solid job in that area.
Sporting director Roland Virkus on…
…the upcoming game in Stuttgart: We don’t just have one important game coming up in Stuttgart, but rather several that still remain. Of course it would be important for us to pick up points in Stuttgart, in order for us to open up a bit of a gap. However, that won’t be an easy task. Stuttgart might be second-bottom, but they have a lot of potential left to explore and have also played better football than their current position in the table might suggest.
…squad planning for the next season: We are already focused on planning for next season, in addition to focusing on our remaining Bundesliga games. Of course it’s important to have quick players, but in the end, we need a mix of young and hungry players, as well as experienced ones.
