“We can do better, and we must”

Hamburger SV are gearing up to host TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on Bundesliga matchday 31, with kick-off at the Volksparkstadion on Saturday (25th April) scheduled for the prime-time slot of 18:30 CEST. The Rothosen, currently placed 14th in the league standings, are up against a TSG side sat in fifth as we head into the new gameweek. In his press conference on Thursday (23rd April), head coach Merlin Polzin went into detail on...

...the latest squad news: Miro Muheim is out, as everybody is already aware. The same goes for Yussuf Poulsen and Luka Vuskovic. Alexander Rössing-Lelesiit, Jean-Luc Dompe and Albert Sambi Lokonga have all been partly reintegrated into team training. We’ll have to wait and see when it comes to picking the squad for the weekend. In terms of Philip Otele, tomorrow we’re going to speak to the DFB again in Frankfurt about possibly reducing his suspension to just one game. He’ll be there in person for the discussion.

...the returnees from injury: I’m delighted with how committed and tenacious the lads have been when approaching their recoveries. It was great to have Alex, Jean-Luc and Sambi back with us this week. I loved seeing that. I get the feeling that every player wants to be out on the pitch and help the team.

...the status of Albert Sambi Lokonga: We’d be really pleased if he were able to make the squad come this weekend. He’s been stepping up his recovery more and more recently. It looked really positive today. We’ll have to wait for tomorrow’s session, though. If he were to come off the bench, he’d still play a huge role for us on Saturday. He can set the rhythm of a game – speeding up the play or taking the tempo down a notch. He also acts as a really positive influence on his teammates.

...the absence of Luka Vuskovic: Luka is an absolutely elite player, of that there can be no doubt. But it doesn’t do us any good to mourn the fact that he isn’t playing. It’s all about finding the right solutions. I have full faith and confidence in the other lads that they can make up for the loss as a team. They shouldn’t just try to emulate exactly how Luka plays, rather focus on showing the best of themselves and playing to their own strengths. Jordan Torunarigha has been doing that in the middle of the backline recently. The way our defensive midfielders defend also plays a role. We’ve been working on this in a very focused way.

...the opponent: Hoffenheim are an incredible side, who are pushing to qualify for European football. They made us look really poor in the reverse fixture. This time, we’re playing at home. We want to once again manage to cause problems for a side hopeful of qualifying for Europe. Everyone is encouraged to play their part in that. We’re coming up against a side that are very dynamic in the way they operate and play high-quality football. The way they run in behind you makes it tricky to defend against them. In the middle of the park as well, you just get the sense that you can’t quite keep up with them. When we last played them, we did not produce defending of the highest level. That’s when it gets really tricky against Hoffenheim.

We’ve been concentrating hard on what we’ll need to do in order to be successful on the weekend. For example, we need to be closing the space effectively, have a clear structure to our pressing and show courage when we’re on the ball. Hoffenheim are brave in the way they defend, or risky, you could say. They always want to take advantage of the right moment. We’re still one of the strongest teams in the division when it comes to the numbers around counter-attacks. We’ll need to do well here again on Saturday if we want to get anything out of the game.

...the end-of-season run-in: We’ve always been clear on what our goal for this season is. We’re still on a really good track to achieve this goal. For me, it’s crucial that we focus on what we can impact directly. That comes down to how we’re performing in training and our own mindsets we head into each game. The defeat in the derby hurt a lot; we can do better, and we must. We’re brimming with excitement for this upcoming game. It can often happen that, as a promoted side in the Bundesliga, you have a period where you don’t win any games for a while. The last time we secured a victory, in Wolfsburg, we also already had a five-point cushion above the relegation play-off spot. We’ll put all energy into focusing on the next game – that’s worked for us since the beginning of the campaign.