Feifel: ‘We’re not as good as gold anymore’

Mister Feifel, what’s your assessment after twelve games?
Feifel: For me, the team’s development has not been a matter of course. We had a big turn-around in the squad with the integration of ten new signings. The development of the team spirit and a new structure have worked very well overall. We were able to win six out of twelve games and only suffered four defeats. I’m happy with the return. But so is the assessment: We want to build on our good first half of the season with an equally good second half. That has to be our target after the winter break.  

Last weekend’s opening match of the second half of the season against SC Freiburg went well. Is that a good omen for the second half of the season?
We can be confident going into these games. We don’t need to be modest. But we have to keep our feet on the ground. You always have to keep in mind where you come from – not just in terms of last season but also the years before. We know we’re not high-flyers – not by a long way – but we have to continue to work really hard. There’s a lot of potential in the team that hasn’t been tapped as yet. That continues to require complete focus, hard work and discipline so we can carry on being successful in the second half of the season.

The team had a target of sixth in the table at the start of the season. The chances of achieving that are still good...
That’s right. But the targets for the season also cover other areas. From a football point of view, we have to keep working on our fitness. That’s not the end of the story. It’s an involved process. The team started at a higher level this season, which we built up last year. We’re also on track in the technical and tactical areas. The stats prove that. But there are also elements we have to keep working on – like flexibility in our basic game, awareness of the opposition and in build-up play. We want to have more possession, be more calm in building attacks, create more chances while also increasing the stability in defence. There were one or two opponents where we were very exposed to counter attacks. Another area is more on a psychological level. Confidence has increased this season. We have shown the mentality and will to win, have been better able to cope with adverse circumstances and going behind plus being able to get back into games. That is also an extremely important development. We should always be aware of what we’re able to achieve. We have to continue working on being full of confidence and making opponents aware of that through all phases of games.

The team actually looks more mature and solid. And that’s evident in the significantly better goal difference (18 to 17) compared with last season. How did that happen?
Above all, with us showing greater mentality in defending – putting a foot in, being ready to make the final challenge, to clear the ball on the line. To keep defending until the situation is over. And that’s only when the ref blows her whistle. We can make life more difficult for our opponents with that mentality in defending the penalty area. But the goal difference tells us there’s room for improvement up front. We have to make more of our chances.

Your team were mostly the underdogs last season and now are definitely the favourites at times. How do you like the new role?
That’s an image we’ve built up. Of course, it helps if an opponent shows a bit of respect and knows we are difficult to play against and we’re not as good as gold like last season. That we can hurt them and are able to be very aggressive and not stand for anything on the pitch.

‘Aggression’ is a demand we’ve often heard from you this term.
That comes from a bigger squad and the associated competition for places in the team. Being in the squad or starting eleven is not as predictable as last season. That promotes greater aggression and intensity in training. It’s logical that you can only play at the weekend in the way you’ve trained. A lot of new signings have had a positive effect on this situation and brought a completely different mentality to the team.

Back to the first half of the season: Which game was the absolute highlight for you?
The most intense game was at Eintracht Frankfurt. That was a test of strength and it went to and fro. Brutally intense with good pressing from both teams, impressive counter-attacking play, challenges and chances for both sides. With highs and lows. That was our best game. We produced a really great team performance for 60 to 70 minutes in all areas.

The negative moment was going out the cup in the second round in the derby against FC Köln?
That was definitely a setback against an opponent motivated beyond belief. We were the better, superior team but the opposition put everything into every challenge they made. We didn’t really get into the game, woke up too late and the game took its course and we were knocked out. We knew it would be a really passionate and tight game. Köln are not a typical second division team and they have a squad with first division quality. The defeat initially hurt a bit more as it was a derby too. But we were able to deal with it, draw our conclusions and get back on track.

Another setback came in November when the team had to self-isolate for two weeks due to a player getting a coronavirus infection. How did the team deal with the situation?
Of course, it set us back a bit as we were thrown out of our usual routines and procedures. But we did have a similar situation during the lockdown with the suspension of play in the spring and that helped us in terms of experience. We were quickly able to set up online training sessions to maintain fitness levels. The game against Bayern Munich proved we were able to deal with the enforced break really well.

Now it’s the winter break and the team restart on 4 January with home training and the first full training session of the New Year is set for 11 January. What will the preparations look like exactly?
The preparation time is relatively short. There are only four weeks to go until the first league game. We’ll have lots of training sessions. In addition, we’re planning to hold a one-week training camp on Gran Canaria in the middle of January. If that doesn’t work out due to coronavirus restrictions then we have a Plan B and we’ll hold an intensive week of training here at our place. If possible with team building opportunities, communal lunch, one-to-one meetings etc. Friendlies are difficult to organise at the moment but we have a big squad and can play games against each other.