press conference

“It is important to get our wingers more involved”

AHEAD OF HIS SIDE’S TRIP TO TAKE ON SPVGG GREUTHER FÜRTH THIS THURSDAY, HEAD COACH CHRISTIAN TITZ SPOKE ABOUT LEARNING FROM THE DISAPPOINTING LOSS AT HOME TO REGENSBURG ON MATCHDAY 6, BEFORE PREVIEWING THE NEXT OPPONENT.

Christian Titz spoke of his relief that the midweek games are now over with. The HSV coach came across very focused in today’s press conference and explained his opinions on tomorrow’s away match against SV Darmstadt 98. After three games without a goal, Titz knows exactly what area of the team needs improving. The focus of training this week was on attacking play. The result of this work will hopefully come to fruition tomorrow, when HSV will come up against strong opponents, who Titz says will be very dangerous on the counter attack. Despite having respect for the upcoming opposition, the 47-year-old is optimistic that his team will come out victorious against Darmstadt.

The HSV coach spoke in detail about…

Christian Titz explained that the focus of the team must be on attacking play.

…the plan for the Darmstadt game: We know that we have to had to do a lot of preparation ahead of this game. Darmstadt 98 are strong at home and are a compact team who are dangerous on the counter. They attack with pace by playing long balls, which will be a difficult challenge for us. In terms of the squad, we have not made any decisions yet. Apart from the players with long-term injuries, everyone is in the squad.

…the work on the attacking play: In training, we have been focusing on being quicker in our build-up play. We want our players to be in areas of the final third that are dangerous for the opposition, so we can create some one-on-one scenarios out wide. We have been practicing different formations.

…the expectations of his team: I hope that, at the very least, we will continue to be solid at the back. We are yet to concede away from home but we want to create more going forward. It is therefore really important, that we make better use of the pace we have in wide areas.

The HSV coach thinks highly of the leaders in his team, such as Lewis Holtby and Gotoku Sakai.

…the leaders Aaron Hunt, Lewis Holtby and Gotoku Sakai: It is normal for things to change a new team. In this context, three important players have taken on important leadership roles inside the club. They talk a lot with the young players and they carry out and explain to others the way we want to play. I am pleased to have these players on board because they breed a feeling of togetherness in the group.

…the difference between Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga: The teams in the Bundesliga possess better quality going forward and start attacking much earlier in games. We played Schalke 04 and Borussia Mönchengladbach at the end of last season and both these teams gave us much more room to play. We had more space in the counter attacks but at the moment this is not the case because the opponents rarely get out of their own half when defending. It is now more a case of patience, to wait and find the gaps where we can penetrate the opponents. It will take some getting used to but there have been positive signs so far.

…the idea of patience in football: Patience is a very tricky idea in football because it is crucial in terms of the outcome of the game. The development of football in the last ten years has been that there is immediate unhappiness when the team fail to win two or three matches in a row. That is the way football is. I believe that it is normal that our young team are given time to grow together. Therefore it is very important that we win tomorrow’s game in Darmstadt because it will provide us some stability.