Hofmann: “We now need to implement the important things on the pitch”

The day after the 3-2 defeat to VfB Stuttgart, we spoke to Jonas Hofmann about the game.

Jonas, how would you analyse yesterday’s defeat to Stuttgart?

Hofmann: In a nutshell, we were too passive. We actually implemented our plan well until the 38th minute. After conceding the amount of goals we have in recent weeks we wanted to sit a bit deeper and be more secure and cause them problems on the counter attack. Were successful in doing the latter, with our well-crafted goals to go 2-0 up, and that caused some unrest in the stadium. That was exactly our plan.

Then in the 38th minute Stuttgart pulled one back to make it 2-1…

Hofmann: That’s right. Then we were far too passive, had too little possession and hardly got out of our own half. Disrupting Stuttgart’s build-up play didn’t work too well and we were pushed back far too deep. We hardly had a grip on the game in the second half and we were chasing the ball too much. Then it was only a matter of time before our opponents capitalised on that.

Where specifically do we go from here?

Hofmann: I am fundamentally an advocate of detailed analysis and we have also spoken a lot about what happened on the pitch and have highlighted the mistakes, which is also important. I think that Yann Sommer put it well yesterday: we must be better at recognising when there is a risk of conceding and act accordingly. But we have now spoken a lot about what we can do better and we now need to implement the important things on the pitch. So we have to look ahead. We know what we have done wrong and also know what we need to do.

The team went over to the fans after the game and you had to listen to them venting their frustrations...

Hofmann: That was obviously not nice, as we would much rather celebrate a victory with the fans. But even in defeat you have to go over to the supporters and thank them for travelling all that way to support the team. That is a question of respect. The fans’ criticisms are understandable. We were however also frustrated and disappointed. We win together and lose together.

You will of course need the fans’ support against Hertha BSC on Saturday…

Hofmann: We know that our fans will get behind us even during the difficult times. It is an incredible feeling when after suffering a heavy defeat like we did against Dortmund, you come out to warm up in the next home game and you receive the support. We are so thankful for that.

What sort of game are you expecting against Hertha?

Hofmann: It will be a highly-charged game. Hertha are even worse off than us in the table and also suffered a bitter defeat yesterday. Both teams aren’t exactly brimming with confidence at the moment and we both need a reaction. We want to keep a clear head and steer things in our favour from the start. It’s a very important game and we want to do everything to make sure that the three points stay here in Gladbach.