“Looking forward to an exciting fifty-fifty game”

They are two teams that are currently in very good form. In terms of results over the last five games, the Lauterers are even a bit better than us. Both teams are in a good phase. Saturday evening, 8:30pm, is a worthy setting. We are looking forward to an exciting fifty-fifty game.

Münster adapted a lot to us two weeks ago, they defended very deeply. Of course I don’t expect that against Kaiserslautern. They play aggressively against the ball and are very man-oriented, especially in midfield. With Elvedi, someone in the back three is missing, so we’ll have to see whether they stick with this formation. They score a lot of goals from transitions after winning the ball. We have to take into account many variables. We approach the game with great respect.

After the day off on Tuesday, yesterday I found a team that was very fresh and focused. And they say they absolutely want to make the two remaining games this year successful. We’ve had a good phase now, but we want to keep going. The team is very hungry and focused and was a little angry that “only” two points came from the good performances of the English week. We have to channel this mood. Because we need a cool head against Kaiserslautern and have to be very confident. Against Münster we were even a bit lacking in motivation at times, so I hope we can settle in well.

I’ll be honest: I didn’t expect this development ofVuko. He deserves a lot of praise for still having such a learning curve at this age. It’s the first time in his life that he’s played this kind of opening game and also defending, but he’s fully committed to it and it’s working. That commands respect from me. For Clemens and Vuko, consistency in their interaction is important, even with the outside defenders. Clemens has managed to focus on his own performance and at the same time takes on responsibility within the team. His development may not be as spectacular as Vuko’s, but I still see it.

But I would also like to mention Matej Maglica, who played outstandingly in Fürth and very well in Bremen. I wouldn’t have any concerns about letting him play for one of the other two or in a back three. That speaks for the ambition of all three players. They defend in training like it’s a cup final. That’s exactly the right attitude.