There are now five matches left of the season. The Green-Whites have momentum on their side going into the final few games, having won their last three in the league. Head coach Ole Werner’s team are looking to continue that run against VfL Bochum on Saturday, 19th April (15:30 CEST). At the press conference on Thursday, the Werder boss spoke about…
… the absences of Veljkovic and Köhn: “I can only repeat what I’ve said before about Milos. He’s still not fully recovered, so I can’t say when he’ll be back. Derrick picked up an ankle knock yesterday and tested it out today, but it’s still very sensitive to pain, meaning he won’t be able to play against Bochum. We are though hoping that he’ll be back next week. Zetti is fully fit again after illness and will play on Saturday.”
… our current form: “The main reason is that we've got almost a full squad of players to choose from. We’re also in good physical condition and what we’re doing is working very well. We’ve also had luck on our side over the past few weeks, but we created that for ourselves. Things don’t happen automatically though. You have to keep working and prove yourself again and again.”
… renewed confidence after recent victories: “Obviously these wins have given us confidence. They increase our belief in our own ability and the cohesion in the group. It’s a good feeling to know that it pays off to keep going and to work hard on improving. That’s another reward for the work we’ve done, but we now have five more challenges coming up. That’s why we’re looking ahead.”
… opponents Bochum: “We’ve got a new task ahead of us. The opponents will have a different approach to what we’ve faced in the past few games. Bochum will look to unsettle us and play a lot of long balls. Second balls and set pieces will be vital. We still want to build on the performances from previous weeks though.”
ℹ️ Squad update from Ole Werner: Two players are unavailable. Milos Veljkovic is still suffering from a calf issue, while Derrick Köhn has picked up an ankle injury after twisting it in training. #werder #svwboc
— SV Werder Bremen EN (@en.werder.de) April 17, 2025 at 12:48 PM
[image or embed]
… Bochum’s recent results: “It’s always best to concentrate on what we can do and what our game plan is. We want to be dangerous going forward but give little away defensively. We have to try and interpret Bochum’s results and look at how they came about. That’s important when assessing the opponent. They would probably only have lost that game against Augsburg once if they played it ten times.”
… the rest of the season: “First and foremost, it’s very positive that we’ve already reached this points total and achieved our aim of securing survival and being able to plan for the future. Anything is still possible. We’d be well-advised to keep giving 100 percent. We want to impress as a team and we still have to face opponents like Leipzig. All of these games present different challenges, so we’re always asking ourselves how we can win the next match. We’re going into the home game against Bochum full of energy and are looking forward to the rest of the season. We don’t want to stop picking up points, so we’re going to give everything.”
… the current atmosphere around the squad: “The atmosphere is obviously dependent on results. At the moment though, we have players who are desperate to play and are knocking on the door, and we also have players who want to keep their place in the starting eleven. Regardless of whether we’re in a negative or a positive situation, it’s important that we always work as hard as possible. Every positive result increases our belief and gives us more confidence. We won’t win the next few games just because we’ve won the last few though, but instead because we’ve kept working as hard as possible and earned the victories. The team have a good and thorough approach.”
… the improved defensive record: “It’s because we have more players back available now. We’ve also obviously been focusing on the defence in training. Training has a different feel when more players are available though. It’s also noticeable in training – and in their performance at the weekend – that we have 22 players who all want to be out there on the pitch for the game.”
