Polzin: “I’m expecting a very close game”

HSV have made a successful start to the second half of the season with back-to-back wins over 1. FC Köln and Hertha BSC. However, head coach Merlin Polzin was keen to emphasise after the away win in Berlin: “I’m pleased overall, but there are a few small things we’ll have to discuss during the week, because there were some areas where we could have done better. We’re happy today, but from tomorrow, we keep working.” That’s exactly what has been happening, and the work has been very meticulous too. This was Polzin’s approach to the week of training ahead of Sunday’s (13:30 CET) match against Hannover 96. The coach said at the press conference ahead of Matchday 20 that his team were well-prepared and he expected an even game. Merlin Polzin on…

… the squad situation: As well as the players who have been out for a long time with injury, Miro Muheim will be missing because of suspension. Manu Pherai and Fabio Balde are making progress in training, but won’t be options for the squad yet. Davie Selke meanwhile has got himself a mask and has been working with that on in the weight room, though not yet on the pitch. We’ll try our best with Davie and the medical department, but obviously it would be helpful if he’d been able to train with the team before playing. We’ll keep a close eye on how it’s going and then decide if he’ll be available on Sunday. Adedire Mebude will definitely be in the squad. He’s made a great first impression. He’s got blistering place, is very agile and makes the right decisions. These attributes had been missing a bit in our squad. There’s a lot of things for him to get used to here, but the team, coaches and staff are trying to integrate him as quickly as possible.

“Our aim will be to strike the best-possible balance between a willingness to defend and an ability to make the right decisions in attack.”

… his approach to this match: We’re aiming to win this game, even though some players are unavailable. That shouldn’t cause us too many difficulties, because we’re looking forward to the match, the stadium will be full and we’ve been working on the small details in training. The team are also very relaxed, which is important. We want to play football which makes us successful, and we’re working on that every day. Every game has different phases, which was especially the case during the match in Berlin. We want to have the right approach for each of these different phases, and put in our best-possible performance on the pitch.

… his thoughts on the opponent: We’re facing a team who defend aggressively. Their defensive performances speak for themselves. Our task is to break free of Hannover’s man-to-man press so we can threaten their goal. We’ve worked out a plan during the week and studied it forensically. Essentially, our aim will be to strike the best-possible balance between a willingness to defend and an ability to make the right decisions in attack. We want to win this match, but I’m expecting a very close game. We’ve lost our last two against them, and Hannover have strengthened in this window and have looked very cohesive in these last two matches. I still think we’re very well-prepared though.