1. FC Köln welcome Holstein Kiel to the RheinEnergieSTADION on Tuesday, 29th October at 20:45 CET. FC head coach, Gerhard Struber and Thomas Kessler, Head of Football, looked ahead to the game at the pre-match press conference.
Gerhard Struber spoke about…
…the fitness situation: “Damion Downs and Max Finkgräfe both have the cold and are doubts. Sargis Adamyan has a Fascia tear and will miss the game. Marvin Schwäbe has done well in training lately and been very professional in regard to the situation he’s in. He’s deserved a game and will be between the sticks tomorrow.”
…the criticism about him and his team after two defeats: “We are all not naïve. If you start to lose games, then discussion starts – that is perfectly normal. For me, it is about keeping my focus on the team and continuing to work professionally with them. We have to be rational. We have a trusting discussions atmosphere within the team. Obviously the last two games haven’t gone by without leaving a mark. We had things to discuss, things that we do well, to bring them back into focus. That’s what we want to do tomorrow.”
…the opposition, Kiel: “The team have a lot of aspects that mean they deserve to be in the Bundesliga. There is a difference in class. They worked hard to get promoted and they are now showing that they can put teams like Leverkusen under pressure. We aren’t the favourites tomorrow. We need to stick by our ideas from the first to the last minute and then we can surprise them.”
Thomas Kessler spoke about…
…his expectations for the team: “We are trying to tweak the right things at the moment. In the current situation, I want to bring my experience within the club to the fore. We are an emotional football club and the players are taking everything on board in an emotional sense. We are all in the same boat and we want to turn things around.”
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