“We will do everything we can to make that happen.”

We’re fully in the spotlight again on Sunday. SC Paderborn is fighting for direct promotion to the Bundesliga or a possible relegation play-off spot. Anything is still possible for them. Accordingly, we’ll do what’s fairest of all: we absolutely want to win this game and we’ll do everything we can to achieve it. And that’s exactly what I sense in the team.

With Fabi, we’ll have to wait and see how tomorrow’s training session goes. He participated in large parts of the last two sessions. He’ll almost certainly get some playing time. The only question is how long it will be. We as a club and as a coaching staff, together with the team, want to do everything we can to give Fabi the right send-off. We’re saying goodbye to a Darmstadt legend who made over 300 competitive appearances for one club in professional football. That’s something extraordinary, something very few professionals achieve in their careers. We want to do everything for a worthy farewell – with the appropriate setting in the stadium, with the right performance and result, and with the timing of his appearance. He should get the send-off he more than deserves. If Fabi starts, he’ll also captain the side. The conversation between me and Schuh about it lasted three seconds (laughs). That alone shows what Fabi meant to the club and in the locker room, and what an exceptional footballer and person he was and always will be.

I had the privilege of getting to know Fabi in all facets of a professional footballer. When I first arrived, he was injured and in rehab. And I was often at the Bölle (Böllenen Stadium) when not many other players were there yet. We had many good conversations about the team and the team spirit, which was always incredibly important to him. But we also talked a lot about football and what it takes to be successful. Furthermore, our two families live quite close to each other. Fabi’s son has become a good friend of my son’s. During Fabi’s injury, the relationship was more intense than with a player whose starting position is always a question of whether or not he plays. In the second part of our working relationship, Fabi was fit to play again and demonstrated to a great extent that he lived by his values ​​even when it wasn’t to his advantage. An outstanding quality in a player and as a person is to show character traits and values ​​not only when things are going well, but also when things aren’t going his way. I truly appreciate that about Fabi.

We’re taking a self-critical look at our recent performance. Regarding player availability, we’ve had far too few players consistently available since March. This severely limited our options. Despite this, we’ve had opportunities to win every match in recent weeks. My impression of the team is that, in addition to Fabi’s departure, they have the extra motivation to absolutely win this game. The lads have demonstrated this in recent weeks, despite the difficult circumstances. I can’t fault this team’s will and passion.

I’d give us a 2+ – based on our playing style, our game plan, and the overall experience. The experience with this team was truly outstanding this year, as was the team spirit, cohesion, and internal dynamic. Our results were only outstanding until March; after that, they were poor. Therefore, I’d give it a 2, indicating room for improvement – ​​especially regarding consistency towards the end of the season and player availability. When we all take a step back and reflect on the season, we’ll realise that there were many truly great experiences. A lot of positive things happened this season, and we want to build on that.

We’re in good talks with Fabian Nürnberger. Everyone knows how much I value him. We’re glad that discussions are taking place between Paul and the player’s representatives. I hope we can avoid a formal farewell for him.

We have a clear intention to continue working with Grayson Dettoni. He’s a player with a strong character and an enormous work ethic. He’s shown that he’s capable of learning and making progress. In both matches, he demonstrated that he can hold his own and compete at this level. Of course, there are still several areas where he can improve. We want to continue working with him on these and believe he can develop further with us.

A season like this lasts ten and a half months, during which you see each other every day. No matter who’s being said goodbye on Sunday, a farewell always hurts because you’ve built a relationship. I’ve enjoyed working with every single player immensely. The human and personal connection with each of them was and remains very strong. Sometimes, as a player, you have to change to get more playing time. Sometimes, we as a club make our own decisions. I’ll be embracing each of these guys on Sunday with a great deal of sadness. I can only wish each of them all the very best.