Karel Geraerts: We don’t need any more motivation

“Things have been really tricky for us for a number of months. Now, we have the chance put all that behind us. We need no more motivation than that for tomorrow,” said head coach Karel Geraerts ahead of the clash with VfL, which will unfortunately take place behind closed doors. It’s an unusual situation that Geraerts will need to prepare his side for. The Belgian explained that he will be doing all he can to fire his side up from the touchline, though he’s feeling confident “that my team will be able to push themselves.” Geraerts lamented the fact that there will be no supporters in the stadium to cheer the Royal Blues on. “We know how important our fans are – both home and away.”

The preparation for the match has been complicated by the constant back and forth over the past few days, which has seen the rescheduling and relocation of the fixture. However, Geraerts stressed that his team have looked impressive in this week’s training sessions and are ready for the clash with Osnabrück.

Staying humble whatever the result

Nothing but a victory will do if Osnabrück are to keep their slim hopes of survival alive, whereas their return to the 3. Liga will be confirmed by a Schalke win. “I’m certain that the opposition are going to give it their all – it’s the last chance saloon for them. Osnabrück aren’t going to go down without a fight – that’s how they do things,” stated Geraerts. S04’s head coach will travel to Hamburg without Ralf Fährmann, Derry John Murkin, Brandon Soppy and Leo Greiml, who are all struggling with injuries. Cedric Brunner returned to training last week, but his workload is being strictly monitored.

Geraerts made it clear that there will be no over-the-top celebrations if his side manage to defeat Osnabrück. “We’ve got to stay humble and look at the things we can improve on, so that we never end up in a situation like this ever again.”