Press conference

Gladbach tough but not impossible

At the pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s game away to Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday afternoon, HSV boss Markus Gisdol discussed team selection, the international break and his side’s chances in Gladbach.

Now that the international break is over HSV now focus on Bundesliga matters again. The Rothosen face a tough task on matchday seven, as they take on Borussia Mönchengladbach away from home on Saturday afternoon (15.10.16, 3.30 PM). Gladbach are particularly strong at home which makes the task that bit tougher. Gisdol is in no mood to visit the superb Borussenpark waving a white flag of surrender. He told the gathered media inside the press room inside the Volksparkstadion on Thursday afternoon: “We are not going there just to deliver the points. We are a good team too and we want to make the most of our chance to hurt Gladbach.” The new HSV coach was upbeat as he answered the questions posed by the media.

Markus Gisdol on…

Dennis Diekmeier choosing sides in Magdeburg. — Dennis Diekmeier used the international break well. He was HSV captain for the friendly match in Magdeburg and is an alternative for Gisdol in Gladbach.

… team selection: Bobby Wood and Alen Halilovic are carrying slight knocks. The conditions in Cuba were anything but ideal for Bobby. The pitch was poor which takes its toll on the muscles. It looks though like he will be able to train normally today. Alen has a slight hamstring problem although scans didn’t reveal anything. We will see how it reacts after training today. Gotoku Sakai only returned to Germany yesterday so we will have to see how fit he is. Dennis Diekmeier is certainly an alternative for us. Johan Djourou has a torn thigh muscle and misses out.

… the international break: We have fierce competition for several places in tzhe team which is a good thing. After players being away we have to assess who is fresh enough for Saturday. We used the time during the international break intensively with no regard for those on their travels. We just worked as if everyone was present. A lot of players made a good impression in training. I like the mentaility and readiness in the team. Now we have to pull everything together. We do not yet know how we will play in Gladbach, we will decide after we have held the remaining training sessions.

Markus Gisdol getting a point across in training. — Coach Markus Gisdol during training. He doesn’t want to make up the numbers in Gladbach and wants his team to fight for points.

… the game in Gladbach: Everyone knows how goo Gladbach are. The overall attitude has to be spot on. If anyone suggests that we are going to lose there anyway I say stop. We want to use our chance of hurting Gladbach the way we hurt Hertha last time out even though we didn’t take any points from that game. Gladbach are good but also have problems. Maybe they rely on their home strength a bit too much.

… the next steps: I don’t belive in moments that change everything, we need steady development. Of course wins are great, but we must be aware that three points will not solve all of our problems. We have to take things step by step and further develop. We want to work on winning the ball and initiating counter attacks in order to capitalise on our opponents’ weak moments.