Schmidt: ‘Motivation through competition’

Roger Schmidt...

...on lessons from the Gladbach game: “We made a mess of it as a team and we shouldn't have given the game away. A number of aspects struck me: For example, we were not so decisive and compact in our structure and at times we lacked the aggression that we normally show – especially when the opponent tries to play into our lines. Beyond that, it was also striking that we were very careless at times in defence. There were a lot of situations we actually had control of but then made dangerous for ourselves including in the first half. We need to be decisive in our defensive work. It's not simple to solve problems at the back as that needs great determination. We were definitely missing that on Saturday in one or other situations.”

...on the poor second half: “We didn't handle the lead well. It was clear to us we would get our chances through perfect defensive work and stability, gain possession and win the game. However, we were careless after the restart in giving away a great chance to Hazard. We were too naïve in certain situations.”

...on determination in the team: “Just relying on footballing ability, that is definitely there, is not enough. We can only be successful as a team through through determination. That's what we've stood for over the past years and that's the way we've achieved our targets – unfortunately we forget that from time to time.”

...on bringing on Kai Havertz: “Havertz is a player who is decsive and makes few mistakes on the ball. He's capable of going forward, is solid in his challenges and, beyond that, he's good in the air. Given the size of our players we aren't a strong team in the air. Kai's done that well.”

...on the quality at dead balls: “We've been very dangerous at set pieces. That's a positive we can take from the first two matches.”

...on the current situation: “We’ll do well to keep focusing on the next match and not announce a chase. That makes sense and that's what we'll do. On Friday, we’re playing against another team with their backs to the wall. So we’ll have to show a reaction as a team.”

...on competition in the squad: “Over the course of a week in training one or two players have get very close to the squad. Kevin Volland had his best training session of the year today, didn't have any reaction to his injury and he looked good. Games like the one against Gladbach give a coach the opportunity to create new motivation through competition. Of course, lessons from analysis of the Gladbach match will also play a role in our line-up on Friday at Hamburg.”

...on preparations for the HSV match: “Up until Saturday's match the team and made a good impression this year. Training was very good, we hadn't played so carelessly in friendlies or in training as we did against Gladbach. I believe and am convinced that they are ready to accept the criticism based on the analysis and go on to do better next time. We will be very focused on training to prepare properly for the game and benefit from competition. Those are the crucial points this week.”