“Build on the Gladbach performance” | OneFootball

Head coach Dino Toppmöller wants to take the momentum and emotions from the cup victory, demands the same mentality and is expecting a “difficult match” against Bochum.

Head coach Dino Toppmöller on …

… the state of play: “We’re looking forward to another home game and need that cup atmosphere from Wednesday again. The crowd have a very good instinct for when we need them even more than usual. It’s going to be a very difficult match, where we’ll need to show the mentality from the cup. We shouldn’t get carried away when we have a successful period but also not be too hard on ourselves for having a bad half against Riga or Union. We want to build on the fantastic performance against Gladbach in the cup on Wednesday.”

… the team news: “We’re in a strenuous period right now. The match against Gladbach was intense, we were a man light for a long time but with the result, the emotions and the joy, it’s easier to handle that. I’ve had the feeling in training that the boys are fresh. We have another meeting with the conditioning coaches and doctors on Friday afternoon and will discuss how we can manage which players.”

… next opponents Bochum: “They’ve been unlucky in a lot of their games this season. The team have quality. I don't expect Bochum to park the bus. They have a lot of players who are hungry to win the ball and defend from the front. It will depend on the footballing quality and dominance that we manage to get.”

… Hugo Ekitiké: “He’s in contention to start and is ready. It’s important for us that he can last 90 minutes with a certain regularity. He’s in outstanding form.”

… Nnamdi Collins and Nathaniel Brown: “Collins' display didn't surprise me because of what I've seen in training. It's the same with Brown. They're not used to playing every three days yet, though. If one of them doesn't start, it's not for performance reasons.”

… Farès Chaibi: “He’s not far off the team, it was just one match not in the squad. We have a lot of really good attacking players. It’s about sticking at it, rolling your sleeves up and working on things in training.”