Search
Login
Please log in with your user data.
Jakob Fimpel: We need to put them under pressure
Saturday night’s home game against Hertha BSC is a football fixture steeped in tradition. The Royal Blues under interim coach Jakob Fimpel are hoping to kick on from last week’s 2-1 away in Münster.
Meetings with Hertha have often been successful for S04, with 43 wins over the capital club their second-best haul against any club since the Bundesliga was founded. It’s also set to be a special meeting for interim coach Jakob Fimpel, as he prepares to take to the dugout in front of 60,000 Schalke fans in Gelsenkirchen for the first time. “Looking up and seeing the fans in the main stand will be special, but I won’t have much time to savour it – there’s lots to think about. I’m looking forward to it though.”
Fimpel expects the game to play out very differently to last weekend: “It will be a different game, a very different dynamic. Unlike in Münster, Hertha’s main approach won’t be via set pieces and throw-ins,” says the interim coach. “Berlin are good on the ball in attack and have strong individual players. We will need to put them under pressure in order to keep them out of the danger areas.”
My impression of the boys hasn’t changed – there is cohesion and solidity.
This week in training has given the interim coach the chance to get to know the team better, not just on the pitch, but in individual talks with the players. “It’s a good basis for getting the right feel for the team,” said Fimpel. “My impression of the boys hasn’t changed – there is cohesion and solidity. If not, they would have fallen apart in a couple of critical moments in Münster.”
Jakob Fimpel highlighted the performances of the two young talents, Taylan Bulut and Max Grüger, as an example of that solidity. “I’m really pleased for Max that he made it through that baptism of fire. Both have felt the trust and the support from the rest of the team. I hope that they can carry on in that vein.”
Sanchez sidelined
They could get their chance again in the home clash with Hertha, with Fimpel unable to call on a handful of players. A number were hit by illness at the start of the week, with centre-back Felipe Sanchez already ruled out for the weekend. Janik Bachmann also isn’t an option for Hertha despite returning to training, while Paul Seguin and Adrian Gantenbein remain sidelined.
