Farke: “We can continue to improve with our fans behind us”

At the press conference before the Foals’ home game on Sunday (17:30 CEST) against Mainz 05, head coach Daniel Farke and sporting director Roland Virkus took questions from the media. We have summarised their most important answers.

Daniel Farke on...

...team news ahead of the Mainz game: Unfortunately, Stefan Lainer will not be available this weekend due his knee issue. Other than him, we have a full complement of players to choose from, which we’re very pleased about. Both of our new arrivals are also available and an option for the squad.

…Borussia’s activity this transfer window: Our club management have done excellently in this transfer window. We have kept all of our key players with the exception of Breel Embolo, and added new quality to our squad, which brings fresh ideas into the squad.

...signing Julian Weigl on loan on deadline day: We are pleased that we signed Julian. It’s no secret that I have known and followed him for a while. He is a seasoned player with great character. Jule is also still where he can continue to development. It wasn’t easy to get him to the BORUSSIA-PARK, but our patience and hard worked paid off at the end. He is a top transfer.

...if the two new arrivals will play against Mainz: Nathan Ngoumou has trained with us for the whole week and is fit. But he is a young player who still needs to adjust to the Bundesliga.  However, he’s got every chance of being in the squad in Sunday. Julian Weigl is a great level of fitness and knows the level here, so he won’t need as much time to adjust. Julian joined us a little later. His advantage is that he is in top condition and knows the league. Thanks to his class and experience, he definitely in contention to make the squad, even if he isn’t fully integrated into the squad after a couple days.

...the upcoming opponent: It will certainly be a much different game to the last one in Munich. We are happy that we are still undefeated, that gives us a lot of confidence and momentum. But Mainz have started just as well, and they could have taken points off Bayer Leverkusen in their last game. They play with a high intensity and readiness to work, and they’re also very strong in tackles. We will require a top performance.

...Sunday's sold out stadium: We are always happy when the BORUSSIA-PARK is full, so my full praise to the fans and everyone who brings the energy and vibe. We have some difficult months behind us now, and we’re now looking forward. We don’t want to dampen the current excitement, but we can’t let ourselves get affected too much by emotions. We have to give 100% every week. With our fans behind us, we can have a good performance and continue to improve.

Roland Virkus on...

...his first transfer window as Borussia’s sporting director: I have learned a whole lot. It was a challenging time, but it is not over yet. Now, it’s all about tying up loose ends and self-reflection. Ultimately, we look forward ways to continue to stabilise the club. That is my job, and I will do everything to achieve it. It is not about me, but Borussia Mönchengladbach. I have a lot of ambition to bring the club back to where it once was - but it is by no means a one man show, it’s all teamwork. Praise shouldn’t go just to me, but also to the entire scouting department with Steffen Korell at the helm, who have done an excellent job.

...Borussia Mönchengladbach’s current situation: We are currently undergoing a process. There are certainly a couple of aspects we can consider finished, but we still need a transfer window or two get to the place we want to be. We want to stabilise the club, and so we don’t need to set any further targets than that.

...the players whose deals run out in summer 2023: The conversations with the players whose contracts are expiring next year are of course continuing. There are things that we can influence, and we are working on that. We are looking to find solutions.