Hütter: “A hugely important game for everyone involved”

Adi Hütter and Roland Virkus answered questions from journalists ahead of Saturday’s derby against FC Köln (18:30). Here are the most important bits from their press conference:

Head coach Adi Hütter on…

…the state of the squad: Marcus Thuram has a thigh problem and we’ll have to wait for another MRI scan to get the full diagnosis. He will definitely miss the derby on Saturday. Tony Jantschke broke his finger in training, but those who know Tony will know that this won’t be a problem for him.

…his sense of anticipation ahead of the derby: Football is inspiring, emotional and these feelings are infectious. I love the passion in this sport. This will be the first game in front of more than 50,000 fans at BORUSSIA-PARK for over two years and it will be something special. These two clubs have a long history with each other and it is a volatile fixture. I’m looking forward to a great atmosphere and a game in which anything could happen. I hope that in the end we will prevail. It is a hugely important game for all involved. We will take to the pitch with our best team and do everything we can to fight for the three points. Winning is the only thing that counts. On top of that, we want to continue the good run that we are currently on.

…how he will approach then game: I will be setting up the team to win the match. We will have to have the right attitude from the very first minute. We need to run our socks of and fight for every ball. We have the class and we have the quality and we need to bring these things to the pitch on Saturday. Against Köln, you need to be fully focused from the first whistle to the last. Last weekend, they overturned a 2-0 deficit to beat Mainz 3-2 and that shows that they never give up. They play with a lot of intensity, press high up the pitch and put in the most crosses of any team in the league. They fight for every second ball and we will have to position ourselves well to beat their press.

…Jonas Hofmann: Jonas is back in the team and is raring to go. After speaking with him and seeing how he is on the training ground, you can see his injury is no longer affecting him, and he is really happy about that. He has plenty of derby experience and he can help us a lot against Köln.

…the development of Jordan Beyer: Jordan has a great record in the games in which he has started. He is a home grown Foal and he has bags of potential. He is quick, a good tackler, good on the ball and finds good passes when we build from the back. All these attributes please me greatly. It is great that we have brought another player from the youth set-up into the first team.

…his aims for the rest of the season: We still have several aims. First and foremost, it was important that we got ourselves out the difficult position we found ourselves in. We have picked up ten points from our last four games and that has been very important. Nevertheless, we still have five very interesting games left to play, including the derby on Saturday. We want to compete with the teams that are above us in the table and finish the season as strong as possible.

Sporting director Roland Virkus on…

…the importance of the derby: When you have been with Borussia Mönchengladbach for 32 years, you know how important the game against FC Köln is. However, it has to be said that it is also about getting the three points. We are on a bit of a run at the moment and we want that to continue. In that sense, it doesn’t matter who the opponent is. However, I do know the importance of this particular fixture. I was involved in a few games against Köln as a coach and they were always great occasions. I hope it is the same on Saturday evening.

…how we will approach the upcoming matches: The last five games will certainly be difficult. We are coming up against teams above us in the table and my wish is clear: I want to win every game. That is the best thing that could possibly happen. It has to be said, however, that we were in a spot of bother a few weeks ago and we have done well to get ourselves out of that position and to make our situation a bit more comfortable. We want to find our spark in the game against Köln and I want us to go into every game with the intention of winning. In the end we’ll see how we get on.

…planning for next season: I agree with the coach that something needs to be altered. When a squad has been together for so long, regardless of how many people are out of contract, you need to make changes. We need someone who can bring some energy into the team and maybe some young players. We just need to freshen things up a bit. I am confident that we will have a very good team next season. A club like Borussia Mönchengladbach demands that.

Head coach Adi Hütter
Sporting director Roland Virkus

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