Polzin: "Bring the energy to spur on the crowd"

It’s back to the tough league schedule for HSV when they return to action under the Volksparkstadion floodlights on Friday night. SV Elversberg are the visitors for what will be an important and no doubt close-run fixture, with the ninth-placed team posing as one of the best performers on the road so far this season. Their tally of just eight goals conceded across 12 away matches to this point underlines their resolve on foreign turf and accentuates the fact that they will be a hard nut to crack. Therefore, having Robert Glatzel, Davie Selke, Ransford Königsdörffer and Otto Stange all fit and firing may prove essential for the Rothosen. Merlin Polzin revealed his thoughts ahead of the clash in his press conference. Polzin on...

…the season run-in: There are eight games left to play so nothing is decided yet. None of the boys are thinking about themselves or individual success, rather they are all working for the good of the team to try and achieve our collective aims. Focus remains on each standalone match. There is no use in looking at the table and trying to work out how many points we need in order to get over the line in terms of our overarching target, instead we just need to keep our concentration on the task at hand each week, as we want to win every game we play. There is still a long way to go so we simply have to focus on ourselves, the way we play and the next fixture on the schedule.

"It’s not just a nice problem to have – this is exactly the situation we want to be in"

…the opponent: Elversberg possess a great deal of quality and have developed into a really good side. Their coach Horst Steffen has got them playing an attractive brand of football and being especially efficient with the efforts they expend, which can create problems for any opposition. We certainly bore the brunt of that in the reverse fixture, which has been analysed again this week. It will be a tough test for sure against a team pushing for the upper reaches of the league. Meanwhile, however, we are aware of the qualities we hold ourselves. Our players have a strong connection to one another, which they have showcased time and again in this stadium. Once again on Friday, we want to bring the energy to spur on the crowd.

…options in attack: The upcoming fixture serves as the first time this season that we will have all four of our strikers available and hence we can adjust our line-up to best suit our game plan against this specific opponent. It’s not just a nice problem to have – which is often the cliché – this is exactly the situation we want to be in. All four strikers hold one another in high stead and work hard together for the good of the team. We will require all four but whether that is alongside each other or interchanging between them we will see on Friday. It is important to note that those who may not start the game are far from out of the picture; rather, they will play a key role in putting the game to bed and ensuring we emerge with the win.