Kees van Wonderen: We want a positive reaction after the Regensburg game

“We’re looking forward to an interesting game against an attractive opponent. HSV will really test us. We have to play to our best if we want anything from the game,” said Kees van Wonderen. The Schalke head coach believes his team will put in a better performance than they did last weekend when they lost 2-0 at SSV Jahn Regensburg. “We have analysed the 90 minutes in great detail and discussed the game. We’re all responsible for what happened. The fact that we lost wasn’t because of individual players – we’re a team. I also analysed the mistakes I made too. We now want a positive reaction after the Regensburg game,” demanded the Dutchman.

Full focus on HSV

Van Wonderen reported that, after the analysis was done on the Regensburg game, the squad’s focus fully switched to this clash with HSV. The 56-year-old stated: “Hamburg are the best team in the league. They possess so much quality. They have a number of really good footballers in their side and are extremely dangerous in the final third. We have to be switched on from the first to the last minute.” The Royal Blues were 2-0 down at the break in the reverse fixture, before putting in a strong second-half performance to earn a 2-2 draw courtesy of goals from Amin Younes and Kenan Karaman. “We almost won that game 3-2,” reflected van Wonderen, explaining that the second half that evening showed what his team is capable of. He’s now hoping they can show it over the course of the full 90 minutes this weekend.

The reverse fixture and last weekend’s result, a surprising 4-2 defeat at home to Eintracht Braunschweig, both show that the league leaders, coached by Merlin Polzin, who took over the role from Steffen Baumgart after the draw with Schalke, can be defeated. “There have been a few games this season where things haven’t gone to plan for HSV. We have analysed both their strengths and weaknesses, and have learnt some things,” said van Wonderen.

The S04 coach didn’t want to go into detail about the things he’s learnt, while he also wouldn’t reveal if there would be any chances to the team that lost in Regensburg. “When naming our starting XI, we always look to have quality on the pitch but also try to find the best possible side to play our opponents. The fitness levels of individual players also play a big role,” he reported.

Uncertainties regarding several players

Friday’s training session will determine the availability and fitness levels of several players. “A few of the guys have knocks,” revealed van Wonderen. Janik Bachmann and Christopher Antwi-Adjei have both returned to team training after their respective injuries. Bachmann, who had been out with a calf problem, is already in full training. “Christopher is also looking good. He’s currently able to complete parts of training after his thigh injury. We’ll take things day by day with him.”

The head coach is also happy with the progress of Emil Højlund, who has been out for several months with a thigh injury, and Ilyes Hamache. The attacker made his return from an Achilles tendon issue in the defeat at Regensburg but required treatment after training on Wednesday (16/4) due to pain in his ankle. “It’s nothing major, but we’ll have to see how it develops,” said van Wonderen.

The coach will definitely have Adrian Gantenbein available again after he served his suspension for a red card last time out. His place in the squad in Regensburg was taken by Tidiane Touré, a right-back from the U23s who came on to make his professional debut late on. Van Wonderen stated that the youngster could get more minutes in the coming weeks and will continue to train with the first team. For both Touré and other youngsters, the club will make a decision before each game as to which squad they will be a part of to improve their likelihood of getting minutes. “Playing regular football is important for the development of a young player.”