Walter: “We’re working on our accuracy”

Hamburger SV will complete what has been an eventful week of fixtures on Saturday evening, as they play a second prime-time clash in seven days. After a 3-3 draw away to 1. FC Kaiserslautern last Saturday night, they claimed a penalty-shootout victory over Arminia Bielefeld in the DFB-Pokal, and now the Rothosen are gearing up to host 1. FC Magdeburg at the Volksparkstadion. At first glance, the roles each side will assume in the game appear already to have been assigned, with HSV sitting third in the table Magdeburg 13th, but the home side have had fair warning about underestimating their opposition when former HSV coach Christian Titz led FCM to victory at the Volksparkstadion last season. At today’s pre-match press conference, Tim Walter spoke about how his side were looking to extend their undefeated home run of 15 matches (W13, D2) and about which of his players are available for the match, going into detail about... 

…the latest squad news: We’re really pleased to have three fixtures in a week. Every footballer dreams of playing three times a week. However, you’ve got to keep an eye on player workload. For this reason, Gui Ramos and Dennis Hadzikadunic, who put in a real shift in Bielefeld, have trained individually today. We’re very happy to have Jean-Luc Dompe back with us. He’s overcome his injury problems and is definitely able to play a part in Saturday’s match. 

… consistency in attack: It’s something the lads really want to work on in training. When I see them practising shooting, then I think: “Wow, look how well they’re finding the back of the net!” Of course, there’s more pressure in a match scenario. There is a considerably higher number of bodies in the opposition box who are trying to get themselves in front of the shots, which makes it tough to find a way through. What’s important for me is that we do find that way through. Our build-up play and attacking solutions are good. The lads just want to score more. We’re working on our accuracy.” 

"I’m a fan myself, and also a huge fan of our supporters!"

… the home-match feeling at the Volksparkstadion: It’s great that we’re at home this weekend. We have an incredibly good fanbase. I’m a fan myself, and also a huge fan of our supporters! We’re really good at home and are looking forward to the game, one which we absolutely want to win. 

… squad rotation in the cup: The lads did really well. You saw that everyone is ready to step in. That’s what makes the difference. It’s going to be a long season and every player in our squad deserves to play. We can pick each and every one of them with confidence, and you could see that on Tuesday. That makes me really happy.