Miron Muslic: We want to take this opportunity to do better

Muslic made it clear at the start of the press conference that his team are not expecting an easy game in Magdeburg, even though FCM are sat in 17th place after five matchdays. “We’re not looking at the table, but rather our opponents instead. They are a team with lots of quality and they rank near the top of the table when it comes to possession. Their squad has hardly changed over the summer and they have a clear style of play.” Magdeburg finished last season in fifth place and long harboured hopes of winning promotion.

Magdeburg’s only victory so far in 2025/26 came on matchday 2 at Dynamo Dresden (2-1), with their other four games – against Eintracht Braunschweig (1-0), Hannover 96 (3-1), SpVgg Greuther Fürth (5-4) and Arminia Bielefeld (2-0) – all ending in defeat. “Their team is better than their position in the table suggests. Under their new coach Markus Fiedler, they still play attacking football, but just haven’t got what they’ve deserved so far,” analysed Muslic. “We know what they can do and have prepared well. It’s important that our defensive structure is solid again, as that will allow us to produce turnovers of possession.”

Last weekend’s 1-0 defeat at home to Holstein Kiel was a minor setback for the Royal Blues after starting the season with three wins from their first four games. “We were obviously disappointed, but we were able to start thinking positively again this week and want to take this opportunity to do better,” explained the 43-year-old.

Muslic acknowledged that his team still need to improve their attacking play: “The season is now seven weeks old and our first main job was to make sure we had some defensive stability. The fact that our balance at the back is better than in attack at the minute was to be expected.” The S04 head coach isn’t too worried though, with captain Kenan Karaman still finding his form after missing the whole of pre-season due to injury, while Christian Gomis has only been at the club for a couple of weeks. “The lads keep on improving their fitness levels and are integrating better into the team. A natural understanding will have to develop as we continue to follow the approach we have chosen.”

Although striker Peter Remmert has been back in training with the rest of his teammates this week, the 20-year-old will not feature in Magdeburg after recovering from the ankle injury he sustained on matchday 2 against 1. FC Kaiserslautern. “He’s making great progress and will be able to get a full week of training under his belt next week. So far, he’s looked sharp, lively and dynamic.” Hasan Kuruçay is set to return to the squad after missing the Kiel game due to suffering from illness during the international break.

There has also been a new face in training this week. Australian defender Dylan Leonard signed for the club on Monday (15/9) and the 18-year-old has been earmarked as one for the future. “He first needs to settle in here, but he’s a really talented lad with lots of charisma,” praised his new head coach. “We know how talented he is and he was given a warm welcome by the team.”