Polzin: “It’s in our own hands”

1st May be a public holiday in Germany but it was business as usual at the Volkspark and for Merlin Polzin, who first led his team out for training before taking to the media room at the Volksparkstadion for his press conference. The HSV head coach answered questions from journalists ahead of his side’s third-to-last fixture of the campaign away to SV Darmstadt 98, discussing the season run-in, as well as the upcoming contest specifically. Merlin Polzin spoke in detail about...
… recent results: We do not want to make the mistake of not affording our opponents the amount of respect they deserve. There isn’t a lot to separate the teams in this division, which is something echoed by all the other coaches in the league. As a result, we are not going to win every game we play, since you are bound to suffer setbacks which was the case last time out. The decisive factor is how you respond to these bumps in the road. We were very clear in our analysis on Monday. Neither the performance nor the result against KSC were of the standard which we would usually aspire to produce and both the belief and energy on show were also lacking. The discussion between the team was a clear one as was that within the coaching staff. The way in which the team have gone about things this week fills me with the confidence that we will bring the energy and focus at the weekend in order to be ready to win the contest.

“We are not afraid of losing anything because we are focused on having won something come the end of the season.”

… external noise regarding HSV: Many people want to provide judgement on us, declaring that we will crumble under the pressure and fall short of our target. However, many others believe that we will achieve our goal. Everyone has an opinion on HSV but I remain convinced of the fact that our sole focus lies on ourselves and on our work. We are not happy with our showings over the past few matches but we know what we are capable of and are determined to win the next match at the weekend. We are not afraid of losing anything because we are focused on having won something come the end of the season. In football, it’s about working hard and sticking together when the going gets tough and, in that respect, we are well prepared and set-up for the all that remains.

… team news ahead of Darmstadt: The players suffering with long-term injuries have been able to put in the hard yards with Sebastian Capel but they are still a couple of weeks away from making their returns. Otherwise, everyone is available. Ferro is fully recovered and things are also looking good for Miro. We have gradually upped his workload throughout the week so that he is now an option to make the squad once more. The entire squad is ready to go at it and that just shows our mindset right now. No one is complaining about minor aches and pains in this key part of the season. I am looking forward to putting together both my squad and starting line-up to face Darmstadt.

“I am really excited because we are now in a period of the season which has been talked about a lot”

… the team’s position ahead of the final few games: Today is 1st May and May is the month in which things are decided in football. This month has come around once more and I am really excited because we are now in a period of the season which has been talked about a lot. Now, we need to get over the line. There are three games left to play and we have a great deal on excitement for that which is to come. The commitment which the entire coaching staff and team, which all these 30, 40 people have shown since the start of the season in order to make it possible for us to be in the position we are cannot be taken for granted and I am certain that we can successfully manage this final step together. If we stick together, then outside voices have no influence. We remain the ones in control since it’s in our own hands and we will continue to fight until the very end.