Walter: “Praise doesn’t earn us any points”

With seven points from a possible nine and the best attacking record in the league, having scored ten goals already this campaign, which takes the tally for the calendar year to 51, HSV sit in the driving seat of the 2. Bundesliga and are on a remarkable run of form which is built on consistency and has been recognised and lauded by their competition in the second tier. The Rothosen will want to continue this rich vein of form when they play Hannover 96 in a crunch encounter on Sunday evening (20:30 CEST). HSV are fully aware that they’ll need to demonstrate their good form in front of 12,000 travelling HSV fans. As we know, “there are no easy games” in the second division, with head coach Tim Walter saying as much in today’s press conference in the run-up to the clash between the clubs from the North.

The 47-year-old spoke in detail about…

… availability: Sebastian Schonlau and Immanuel Pherai are available to be selected again. We’ll wait and see whether they’ll be viable options for the matchday squad. We have training again tomorrow and we’ll see how the lads are feeling then. Laszlo Benes still has a bit of a cold, but will probably return to training tomorrow. We’re managing Andras Nemeth and Ogechika Heil’s workloads, since both have calf problems at the moment.

… Sebastian Schonlau’s contract extension: We’re really happy about it. He loves the team as much as I do. “Bachso” wasn’t always the player he is now. In the space of two years, he’s become one of our leaders. He’s got the mentality that can pick the other boys up and make them follow his lead. He does this really well with the rest of his teammates, with “Ferro, “Bobby”, “Meffo”, “Tom”, and “Ludo”. They help the other boys out and really help me out in that regard.

"We're really happy with our start to the season, but would've liked to have two more points on the board."

… the recent praise his team has received from their league rivals: It’s an honour, and it‘s pleasing for us to hear such things. We know, however, that praise doesn‘t earn us any points. Above all, we know that we need to stay grounded. We need to continue working hard. We want to get better and need to improve upon a few things in attack and in defence, as well as out wide on the flanks. We are very happy with our start to the season, but would’ve liked to have two more points on the board.   

… the upcoming opponent: Hannover have strengthened over the summer and are an ambitious team: They’ve brought in Marcel Halstenberg from the Bundesliga and have two ex-Hamburg players in the form of Derrick Köhn and Louis Schab. Every game is tough in the 2. Bundesliga. As a result, we don’t underestimate any opponent, but focus far more on their strengths and weaknesses in order to increase our chances of picking up a win.   

… the team’s travelling support: The support is very impressive. We have had exactly the same situation three times in the last 15 months – in Berlin, Hannover and Düsseldorf – whereby our fans have travelled to support us in such large numbers. We are currently looking very strong at home and it’s great that an away game feels like a home game when so many fans travel to watch us play. It shows how enthusiastically our fans support us and get behind the club.