Farke ahead of #BSCBMG: “We are prepared for it to be emotional”

Head coach Daniel Farke and sporting director Roland Virkus answered journalists’ questions at the press conference ahead of Sunday’s Bundesliga away match at Hertha BSC (15:50 CET). Here’s what they had to say.

Daniel Farke on…

…The squad for the match in the capital: It’s looking really good for Sunday. Manu Koné and Jonas Hoffmann have had problems recently but were able to join in training on Friday. Alassane Plea had to take it easy due to a cold. Apart from Julian Weigl, who is serving a yellow card suspension, I am optimistic that every player will be available.

…The change due to Julian Weigl’s suspension: It is of course an option to play with Christoph Kramer and Manu Koné. We did that a lot at the start of the season, so they wouldn’t need much time to adjust to it. Florian Neuhaus is still on the way to being 100 percent fit since he was out for a very long time. Every training session is good for him, and he has recently always been in the squad and an option for the last minutes. Of course, we don’t want to reveal exactly how we will line up on Sunday.

…Communication with Patrick Hermann and Alassane Plea, who have played less recently: Making these decisions is one of the most difficult things in a coach’s job. You can only really make eleven players happy in a squad of 21, so the most are in a situation they don’t want to be in. But for us every player has the same value and we communicate that transparently. Patrick is a hard-working player and Lasso one of our top scorers. My relationship with them is really good. They understand the decision and will both play an important role this season.

…The qualities of Manu Koné and his importance for Borussia: Manu is a young player. He has enormous potential and gives our squad qualities that we need. Of course he still makes the wrong decisions at times, but that is allowed for a young player. He is almost irreplaceable for us.

…Hertha BSC: They aren’t where they want to be, and will be highly motivated to get their first points after the Bundesliga restart at home on Sunday. Due to their situation we also know that they won’t be full of confidence.

…Preparation for the game in Berlin: We have stressed the importance that this game has for Hertha and are prepared for it to be an emotional game. We also know that the opposition will not be too confident and probably make one or two mistakes. We have to be alert and try to use this current situation to our advantage.

Roland Virkus on…

…The current football situation for the Foals: We certainly wouldn’t mind finishing sixth or seventh at the end of the season. Nevertheless, we went into this season with a different objective. We wanted to reduce the number of goals conceded and return to the Borussia way. We find ourselves in that situation right now, but it’s about development. And for me, that means taking one or two setbacks into account and allowing the team to have them.

…The status of the contract negotiations with Lars Stindl: We are still not putting any pressure on him. For Lars, it’s all about his plans in life and the question of whether Mönchengladbach should remain at the centre or whether he should go back to his hometown of Karlsruhe. This decision is directly related to his family and children. Lars is at a mature age and it’s perfectly normal for him to think about this. We are giving him time to do so. He will come to us as soon as he has made a decision and that’s the agreement.