“It’s about giving everything you’ve got for one another”

The Green-Whites need just a single point to fully secure their Bundesliga survival. Werder will be aiming to pick up that point this Saturday, 9th May, at 15:30 CEST away at TSG Hoffenheim, and thereby guarantee their top-flight status on their own terms. Head coach Daniel Thioune discussed at the pre-match press conference exactly how his side plan to achieve that. He also spoke about...

…TSG Hoffenheim: “Hoffenheim are a very strong team. They try to make a lot happen in possession. They play very high up in the opposition half. That is a bit of a blessing and a curse at the same time. They dominate games and see a lot of possession, but that also leaves space to exploit in transition. That’s where TSG can perhaps be got at in one or two moments. Going into the fixture, their objective against us will be to win the game because they still want to qualify for the Champions League. That’s why I think it will be a balanced game with neither side coming out all guns blazing. I expect Hoffenheim to come at us with a disciplined attacking display. They get a lot of shots away, put in a lot of crosses and have plenty of touches in the opposition box. Those are things we need to be alert to. When we have the ball, we need to stand up to their man-oriented approach. My team is absolutely capable of doing that. Then we’ll try to create danger through transition moments.”

…the disappointment after Augsburg: “The first thing we did was clear the air. None of us were satisfied with the performance. It’s important to keep a healthy mindset. We saw other teams secure survival, so we know we missed a chance. The disappointment was huge, both in the stadium and within the squad. Afterwards, you start looking for reasons behind what happened. You can certainly point to a lack of energy. Maybe it was also because the expectations had risen enormously after the good performances in Stuttgart and in the Nordderby.”

…possibly “celebrating” survival despite a defeat of their own: “Part of having a healthy mindset is recognising that nobody can really be satisfied if the season ends with survival in 15th place. If you’ve escaped with a black eye, then it’s not really appropriate to celebrate. But at the same time, you can still be pleased if, after being second-from-bottom eight weeks ago, we managed to avoid the worst-case scenario. The task I took on was to finish the season with Bundesliga survival secured. We’re on a good path towards doing that.”

…the importance of securing survival with a point themselves: “It’s very important to me, but I also think we need to make a certain distinction: if we do finish in 15th place with 32 points, then we’ve still earned survival ourselves, and we’d deserve it. Every other team in this league has picked up their own points. If 32 points are enough, then it’s fundamentally down to our own efforts, even if of course I’d rather have 38 points on the board.”

…the ups and downs of this difficult season: “You can tell the season has had its effects on the lads. But I also believe the team trusts me and my ideas. That’s important. The squad and the players need to buy into the ideas we have as a coaching staff and then leave absolutely everything out on the pitch. In the end, it’s about giving everything for one another. That increases the chances of getting a good result. When this team hits its limit, then it can compete with any side in this league.”

…the role of Salim Musah: “I’m right to judge players on performances. When a player puts in a good performance, then naturally we discuss that within the coaching staff. After the display he produced last week, Salim Musah is definitely a candidate for the starting XI. The situation we’re in won’t play a major role in that decision. We’ll pick the players who have shown us they can perform. That’s why it makes sense to consider Salim Musah playing from the start.”

…Jens Stage: “He was ill this week. He needed to take it easy, and of course, we had to keep him away from the rest of the group. Our final training session is today. I’m pretty positive that he’ll travel with us, though, and as long as he doesn’t suffer any setbacks, it’s very likely that you’ll see his name on the team sheet come Saturday afternoon.”

…Leo Bittencourt’s injury: “To be honest, the injury situation is such that it’s virtually impossible for him to return to training next week. That also means it’s highly unlikely he’ll be back in the squad for the final matchday. But he remains very close to the team. We see him every day. Leo is outstanding as a leadership figure. He’s done a lot for this club over the years. That’s why it’s a shame that he probably won’t be able to make it onto the pitch against Dortmund. But he’ll keep giving the lads everything he can to help push them over the line.”