“We need that special feeling again at home tomorrow”

HSV will be quickly put to task again this week, with the side looking to bounce back after a 2-1 loss at home to RB Leipzig as Bayer 04 Leverkusen head to the Volksparkstadion on Wednesday night. As we approach the rearranged matchday 17 clash with the team currently sat fifth in the Bundesliga standings, head coach Merlin Polzin sat down for a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, going into detail on...

…the latest squad update: Nicolas Capaldo is out, as was announced yesterday. Alexander Rössing-Lelesiit is continuing to work through his rehab, and Miro Muheim is suspended for tomorrow’s game. Albert Grönbaek was partly back involved in team training today, but he’s still out of contention for Wednesday. Everybody else is fit to play their part tomorrow.

...lessons learned against Leipzig: We played against a team that are much higher up the table than we are. We lost, and deservedly so. Having gone back and looked at the performance, we weren’t happy with how we didn’t manage to close down the space when out of possession, and our positional play on the ball also wasn’t good enough. We have to be self-critical, analysing and addressing those issues. It is important to say, though, that we were playing against a side which is both packed with individual quality and incredibly well organised as a team. That’s also the case in this next challenge as we face Leverkusen. Tomorrow, we want to come up with the right kind of reaction, both as eleven players on the pitch and as a whole club together. It’s about matching up to the standards that we set ourselves.

“We set our own standards, but we can’t forget what we’re up against here” 

...the upcoming opponent: Leverkusen finished as runners-up in the league last year, they’re in the Champions League last 16, they’ve made it to the semi-final of the DFB-Pokal, and, just two years ago, they won the double. We have our own standard, but we can’t forget what we’re up against here. This is a very good side we’re preparing for. That’s exactly why we’ll go into tomorrow’s game full of energy, with the knowledge that anything less will leave us with no chance. It’s quite a nice situation to have, as you understand that you simply have to give it 100%. As a competitor, it’s only natural to want to take on the best in the business. It’s always something very special. We need that special kind of feeling again when we’re back at the Volksparkstadion tomorrow. We want to ensure that after holding our own at home against three Champions League sides already, we meet the fourth with the same kind of tenacity.

...the challenge of midweek football on the schedule: We don’t want to start complaining, and we’re not wasting time thinking about whether we lack that physical intensity or are tired as a result. I don’t want to hear that. Tiredness is a mental thing. We’re brimming with energy, and now it’s our job as a coaching staff to set up so that the boys feel fresh as anything when we kick off. We’re looking forward to having two games in the space of four days. We’ve been waiting a long time, years even, for the chance to play Bundesliga football. The last thing I’m about to do is complain that we have to play Bundesliga football. As coaches, we love the preparation and training, while the lads probably have a different experience and can’t wait to get out there and play.