“We’ll be up against a top-quality side”

HSV have brought their five-day stay at adidas’ Home Ground to an end. The players took to the training pitch for the final time on Friday (7th August) before heading back to Hamburg in the afternoon. Next up is Saturday’s friendly against LOSC at the Volksparkstadion, with kick-off at 15:00 CEST. Before the team departed, assistant coach Loic Fave reflected on the training camp, looked ahead to the meeting with the French side and assessed where HSV are at in their preparations. The 33-year-old spoke in detail about ...

… the friendly against Lille: Lille are a top side who finished third last season and have quality in every department. They’ve been very consistent over the past few years and have regularly been up near the top. We’ll be up against a side with real quality. They’re at a very good level when you compare it to the Bundesliga. We start the season away in Dortmund, so this is exactly the sort of test we need. As a coaching staff, we like our friendlies to really challenge us. Games like this give you an even clearer picture of what you still need to work on to be ready for the Bundesliga.

… the training camp: It was definitely the toughest week of pre-season so far. The players who have been with us from the start in particular have taken another step forward. With them, we wanted to really get into the finer details of what we’re working on.

… where HSV are in pre-season: We’re further along than we were at the same stage last year because the foundations are already in place and the team have a good understanding of our ideas. The new players have settled in well too, so there’s plenty we can build on. We’re very happy with the commitment and the way the players are applying themselves. Overall, the whole squad are fully buying into what we’re doing. We set out to play with greater intensity, create more situations where we can press high up the pitch and be more dominant in transition. You can see from the training sessions and friendlies so far that we’re improving in those areas. It’s still a process.

… the youngsters at the training camp: They’ve made a good impression. You can see that they don’t look out of place when they step up to the first team. Young players can earn their place in a senior squad through their personality and their performances, and they’re doing both very well. They ask questions, for example, and build relationships with the other players. That doesn’t happen by chance. We’ve brought Tom Mickel in to help prepare the youngsters, particularly on a personal level. We need them to have the attitude that they want to learn, that they can match the intensity required and that they build relationships with the older players. Tom’s role is specifically to make that step up into the senior game easier for them. Given my dual role, I’m obviously pleased to see the progress we’ve made in the academy over the past few years now starting to show.