Nikola Katic: We want to quickly get back on track

After winning five matches in a row, the Royal Blues have suffered setbacks in their last two games: a 4-0 defeat to SV Darmstadt in the second round of the DFB-Pokal was quickly followed by a 2-1 loss to Karlsruher SC in the league thanks to a last-minute goal. “Obviously, you’re disappointed when you lose games and are knocked out of the cup,” said Katic. “But that’s football. There’s still a lot of the season left to play.”

This is one of the reasons the Bosnia-Herzegovina international isn’t reading too much into the league standings. “The table means nothing – we meticulously prepare for every game, no matter who it is we’re playing.” Third-placed SVE will make the trip to Gelsenkirchen with one point fewer to their name than Schalke, who sit on 24 points after 11 games. “Nothing is decided yet. Another three points are up for grabs against Elversberg,” said Katic. “We want to quickly get back on track.”

As an experienced player within the team, he sees himself as someone with particular responsibility. In Karlsruhe, his usual teammates in the back-three Timo Becker and Hasan Kuruçay were both unavailable, with Mertcan Ayhan and Felipe Sanchez taking their places. “I feel responsible for the defeat, because we can’t expect these young talents to carry that burden,” explained the 29-year-old. “Players like Kenan, Loris and I have to lead by example in situations like that and help others to develop further.”

The two recent defeats haven’t changed the team’s mentality. “We’re still working hard and can improve in many different areas day by day.” Katic believes the team is well prepared for what lies ahead. “A football season is a marathon, not a sprint, and we’re on the right track.”