“That’s a tough nut to crack that’s waiting for us up north.”

For me, Kiel is a team that has had a very difficult start. Six of the seven teams they’ve played against are from the top third of the table. We’re the third league leaders they’re playing against. They haven’t necessarily talked about needing a shake-up, but have been relatively open about their desire to get promoted again and have invested accordingly. And you can see that in their games, too.

They’ve had a coach for many years who stands for a clear vision. They’re a very physical team, leading the league in terms of „intense runs“ – both in terms of high-speed runs and sprints. They generally play out of a back three and, in Bernhardsson, on the right in front of the back three, have an attacking player who is one of the league’s top players. Kiel has a clear vision of how they want to press – especially in home games, they go for it harder than away. I expect a team that will try to physically smother us, that plays very clearly and quickly up front and is very determined. That’s a tough opponent waiting for us up north.

I’m not at all interested in the record against Kiel because I wasn’t there for the games. Kiel isn’t right next to Bremen, so there’s no real sense of home. But you know Kiel – it’s a traditional club in the north. They’ve done a great job in recent years. I have a lot of respect for that, including for the club’s overall development. A nice old acquaintance of mine, Finn Bartels, ended his career there. A former player, Patrick Erras, plays there. There are a few similarities, but I’m far from having an incredible connection to it.

It’s very difficult to predict the outcome of games in the league because every team has characteristics that allow them to win games. What’s exciting is that we’ve played against very different opponents and have often found different solutions.

Our game plan is based on being able to outplay an opponent when necessary, being able to hurt an opponent by winning the ball, and also being able to stay compact during certain phases of the game. The team’s form always says something. And Kiel has often faced opponents in peak form so far this season.

I’m happy about everyone who’s at the training ground. But everyone who was fit to play has already had their moment this season. Luca Marseiler comes in against Düsseldorf and has three goal contributions. Or Matej Maglica against Braunschweig.

These players are constantly changing, which then provide highlights. This also shows the players that it’s worth sticking with it. We’re in October, and there’s not a single player yet who has said: „Then I’ll just be number 16-19 in the squad.“ I’ve never had that in my coaching career. Despite our clear focus and structure, the others are scratching their heads in a positive way. And yet, we have a very good relationship on a personal level. We have to get the players on board – not for tactical reasons, but because we need everyone. One of our greatest strengths this year is the group, and we’ve worked hard on that.

On the one hand, it is a bit of luck that we don’t have any injuries at the moment. The game has become more intense and more stressful for the players. On the other hand, I think this is also an issue that Paul Fernie can take credit for. We are pushing this issue very hard as a tandem. We have changed an incredible number of structures – be it meeting structures or the athlete management system that we have installed. Everyone knows about the players: the coach, the physio, and the athletic trainer. We always have to think first: What is important and good for the player? That won’t always work. But I believe that we have significantly increased the likelihood of having fewer injuries. I am very pleased that we have been able to make a lasting impact on this development in this area too.

The mood is good. That’s fine when you’ve earned the points we did. Honestly, though, that doesn’t matter for the game in Kiel. We know it’s a very difficult away game. We deliberately trained for a long week because we feel we want to continue working with focus and confidence. It’s a really difficult game in Kiel – but we’re also approaching it with the confidence that we’ve found a variety of, yet always appropriate, solutions over the past few weeks.