“We will have to find some smart solutions”

Hamburger SV and RB Leipzig will go toe-to-toe as they close out Matchday 24 of the Bundesliga season on Sunday evening (19:30 CET). The Rothosen will look to extend their impressive run of seven home games without defeat, as they take on a Leipzig side currently sat in fifth place. How victory can be achieved, which players will be available for the match and what makes the opponent so dangerous are all things HSV head coach Merlin Polzin addressed in detail at the obligatory pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon. The Hamburg-born coach spoke in depth about…

…squad availability: Albert Grönbaek and Alexander Rössing-Lelesiit are currently in rehabilitation and unfortunately will not be available. The rest of the squad is eager and ready for Sunday’s match.

…the approach to the game: Every Bundesliga match is motivation enough and an obligation to our fans. We still remember the reverse fixture because we delivered a very solid performance against one of the absolute top teams in the Bundesliga. In the end, however, we were also shown that you can play well, but what ultimately matters is the score. It was a defeat that we accepted and analysed. We don’t just want to put in a good performance on Sunday – we want to win. We know that we’ll need to be at 100% to do so.

…possible squad rotation ahead of a busy week: I’m not a fan of complaining about how the fixtures are scheduled. We’re grateful to be in the Bundesliga. We’ll have to find smart solutions, and we’re on a good path to performing at our best in all three matches. We’ve put together a really strong squad. For a coach, there’s nothing better than being able to rotate. In central defence, for example, we’re clear that we need to find a good rhythm with regard to our match plan, the opponent’s style of play and load management. We’re taking it one game at a time and not worrying about what will happen on the next matchday.

“We have to throw everything we have into competing against teams like this”

…the opponent: It will be a very intense game because we’re facing a team with tremendous pace and outstanding individual players. That starts at the back and goes all the way to the front. This team belongs to the absolute top class in the Bundesliga. We’re very grateful to once again host a side at the Volkspark that is competing for European spots. We’ve already shown that in these matches we can compete and succeed in our own way. We have to throw everything we have into competing against teams like this. The boys have done that in the past, and it will be crucial again on Sunday if we want to take all three points.

…his side’s development: We were in a period of rebuilding at the start of the season. Naturally, things take time – you can’t just put 11 or 25 footballers in a room and expect everything to work. The football we want to play is built on connection and mutual understanding, not only in terms of tactics and patterns of movement, but also regarding the personality behind the player. The boys needed that time to create something solid and stable, both internally and externally. It’s extremely impressive how they have taken on responsibility and how well they are all functioning. We want to keep improving every single day. It may sound like a cliché, but for us it’s important to not just think from game to game, but from training session to training session and from analysis session to analysis session. We work hard and with conviction – that’s how we’ve chosen to work with the team and that’s how we’ll carry on working with them. We want to keep getting closer to our peak to achieve the best possible results. Ultimately, what matters most is not the past, nor the future, but being present in the here and now.