“I expect a courageous display and real spirit going forward”

Second time lucky. After Saturday’s scheduled game against TSG Hoffenheim was postponed due to severe weather conditions, SV Werder Bremen will make the trip down to the Ruhr valley on Tuesday, 13th January, for a 20:30 CET kick-off against Borussia Dortmund. Ahead of Werder’s first game back after the winter break, head coach Horst Steffen discussed a range of talking points, most notably...

...the squad situation: “The absence of Maximilian Wöber is only a minor thing, I’m hoping he’s back on the pitch soon. It’ll take a little longer with Felix Agu. It’s up and down with Niklas Stark, he keeps feeling pain. It’s not a good thing for him. When he is fit though, he always puts in 100%, gives everything for the team and puts in strong performances. His level of commitment is exemplary. He never takes it easy, and so I’m always thrilled when he’s ready and with us.”

...his first impression of new signing Jovan Milošević: “We had a brief chat yesterday. He seems like a nice guy, open and friendly. We’ve brought in a player who can really add something to the team, who isn’t afraid to be selfish in front of goal which is something that will help us a lot. It’s possible that he’ll be involved on Tuesday, but of course he needs a few days to settle in.”

...his assessment of Milošević as a player: “It’s crucial for us that he’s at full fitness and he’s been playing a lot recently. He’s good at getting a shot off, he can run in behind and is good in the air as well as technically gifted with the ball at his feet. He gets himself into the positions where a centre forward should be, and he’s got a good knack for sensing where he can pose the biggest threat.”

...extra competition for Keke Topp: “It doesn’t need to be the thing that leads to a reaction. We always demand that players work to improve themselves, and that applies to Keke as well. We’re working with him to develop particular areas of his game, but of course the competition could help him to kick on and give him the opportunity to do better than he perhaps has done so far this season.”

...the game in Dortmund: “We want to defend well as a unit and try to disrupt their deliveries into the danger zone. We’re going to have to run a lot and really commit in the tackle. We’d love to put a few past them, just as Frankfurt did the other day. I’m expecting us to be courageous in our play and show a lot of spirit going forward.”

...the pros and cons of Saturday’s postponed game: “It’s pointless to spend too much time dwelling on it. If I knew how the game would have played out, I could say whether it’s a good or a bad thing for us. As it is, other teams had the chance to pick up points, we have a game in hand and an extra midweek game to look forward to.”

...conditions in training this week: “We were able to do good work out on the training pitches. Huge credit needs to go to Tim Engelke and our other groundsmen. They made sure we had good conditions to train in, despite the circumstances this week.”

...the situation around set-pieces: “We work on it every week, attacking and defending, it’s a constant theme for us. We’ve managed to create chances from such scenarios, but it hasn’t quite come off for us in terms of goals yet. We scored against Köln after a clearance from a corner, which isn’t directly a set-piece goal, but could count as one. Of course, we would have liked to have scored more, and there needs to be an improvement there in the new year.”

...the left-back position: “Isaac and Olivier have different skill sets, both deserve to play really. It’s a good feeling for me, to have two full-backs to choose from who have different qualities.”

...Victor Boniface: “It’s a shame that he suffered the injury and had to undergo surgery. It’s no secret that he didn’t have the impact that everyone had hoped for. That’s a shame for him and for us, because both parties had imagined the situation working out differently.”