Seoane: “The team are pulling in the same direction together”

Head coach Gerardo Seoane answered media representatives’ questions at the press conference ahead of the Foals’ home game against VfL Bochum on Saturday (15:30 CET). Here are his most important quotes.

Head coach Gerardo Seoane on…

…the injury absences: Alassane Plea and Tomáš Čvančara will be out injured at the weekend. Lasso has a badly bruised foot and is suffering from pain like before. He’ll have to recover bit by bit. We would have liked to have had both players available on Saturday, because Lasso has a big impact on our attacking play and Tomáš gives us another dimension up front with his pace and runs in behind. But injuries are a part of professional sport, so we have to find other solutions. As well as Jordan, we also have Shio Fukuda and Grant-Leon Ranos who can play in these positions.

…the situation with the rest of the squad: Nico Elvedi and Ko Itakura are unavailable due to suspension. Luca Netz is ill and is a significant doubt. Jonas Omlin keeps making progress. It’ll still be a while though before he can play again. Florian Neuhaus was back in full training on Wednesday. We’re pleased about that, because he can help us a lot with his qualities.

…the defensive set-up: We don’t just have Joe Scally, Max Wöber and Marvin Friedrich available in defence. There are other alternatives in the squad. Stefan Lainer has made a few appearances off the bench and is now at 100 percent again. Tony Jantschke has recovered from illness and is also fit again, while Fabio Chiarodia is a flexible option.

…the current sporting situation: Everyone here understands the situation we find ourselves in. I feel that the team is very tightly-knit and pulling in the same direction together. The boys are trying to fight against adversity united as a team. We can look at the table and be aware that very important games, which we need to pick up points from, are coming up now. Nevertheless, we’re only focused on the next game. Our goal is to put in our best possible performance on Saturday and secure a win.

…the approach: VfL Bochum have been playing with a clear identity for some time. Bochum are very aggressive out of possession, have a clearly defined style of play, and are very tough to play against. We know that it will be a big challenge – not only due to the opposition, but also due to our own situation. Finding a good balance between the necessary aggression and a certain relaxed attitude will be a very important task for us for the rest of the league season.

…the importance of set pieces: Goals from dead-ball situations can be a game changer. You can sometimes turn close games in your favour. We scored lots of goals from set pieces in the first half of the season, but the opposition naturally adapt to that and focus on preventing these goals. Therefore, you can’t expect to consistently score from set pieces over the course of the entire season. It’s crucial that we have a decent tally of set-piece goals by the end of the season.

…Franck Honorat’s form: Franck is an incredibly important player for us. He’s had one or two physical problems recently and has also been missing a bit of confidence at times. It’s completely human for him to put in a poor performance occasionally. It’s just important that Franck kicks back into gear quickly and brings his strengths to the team: his pace, his crossing ability and his dangerous set-piece delivery. We hope that he can build on his good performances from the first half of the season in the run-in.