Season

“We’ll continue to work our socks off”

HSV captain Sebastian Schonlau spoke to the journalists on Wednesday about the upcoming clash against Eintracht Braunschweig, HSV’s chances of promotion, and the reasons for the side’s progress in the current season.

After finshing up with Wednesday’s training session, HSV’s skipper Sebastian Schonlau spoke openly in an interview about the weekend’s meeting with Braunschweig, and provided an insight into the general feeling within the team. The 29-year-old shared his thoughts on:

... the match against Braunschweig: Everyone was naturally disappointed after the loss to Kiel, so it was clear that we would have to work hard from the very first session this week. It’s our responsibility to take things up a notch once again by training well and leaving everything out on the pitch against Braunschweig. Our main aims are to put in a strong performance and pick up all three points. The fans also deserve for that to happen. We’ll continue to work our socks off and will absolutely not give up. Above all, we need to remain professional. This is not just a hobby for us, we have to perform. It’s vital that we stay focused on the here and now, while also having a bit of fun in training. If not, it won’t go our way at the weekend.

... the possible promotion: That’s not our main concern at the moment. We recently suffered a big setback. Of course, anything is theoretically possible, but we’re currently focusing our efforts on the game against Braunschweig. At lot would have to go our way for it to happen, and it’s ultimately out of our control. What we can influence, however, is whether we do our job in the upcoming match. There’s no sense in thinking about the what-ifs, we just have to win at the weekend. We always have hope within us – it spurs us on. But in the same breath, we want to be realistic and not get too carried away.

... the season so far: A lot of things have led us into the situation we’re in now. With the exception of the start of the season, we went through patches where we lacked consistency in our performances, and dropped down the table as a result. We also had games where we came back from behind, but threw away the lead at the last minute, so also lost too many points in that regard. All of those factors are reasons why we're in the position we are now.

... the consensus among the team: Every single player in this team is responsible for our current position. All of us need to reflect on the season and figure out what we could have done differently. There’s a lot of talk among the boys about the current situation, and we’re doing our best to remain positive. We want to continue working together and keep the faith in our ability on the pitch, while maintaining our team cohesion. It’s important that we complete drills at training with purpose, and go home feeling positive. Although it might be clear that we’re not bursting with self-confidence, our concerns are very normal and a part of being human. Despite that, we’ll stay professional no matter what.