Victor Pálsson: We are a team, both on and off the pitch

The Royal Blues currently sit in fifth place, but Pálsson wouldn’t be satisfied if that’s where they end the season. “We want to aim even higher,” he said, adding “Looking at the table, there’s probably no other league in Europe where the race is as close and exciting.”

However, the Iceland native isn’t letting himself be distracted by trying to predict how the other teams in the league might do on the weekend. “We need to win our games. That’s the most important thing,” he said, adding “We are going to Düsseldorf in order to take all three points!”

While Schalke have enjoyed a rise in form recently, the same hasn’t been true for Fortuna. “Düsseldorf are going through a bit of a rough phase right now,” said Pálsson. F95 are currently in 16th place, having failed to pick up points or score in any of their last four games. However, the 30-year-old isn’t underestimating this weekend’s opponents, saying “The reverse fixture was a tough game for us. Düsseldorf have a strong team with several good players.”

Fortuna have also appointed a new head coach in recent days, with Daniel Thioune taking over from Christian Preußer. But, as Pálsson explained, this change has little impact on how Schalke prepare for the match. “Düsseldorf might play with a bit more power or more freely following the change in coach. But, we’re not worried about that. We are focused on ourselves, on our performance and our strengths.”

Pálsson praises the team spirit

One of Schalke’s strengths in recent games has been the team spirit. “The mood has been good.  We are a team, and everyone gives their all for their teammates, both on and off the pitch,” Pálsson said. “I think you can see that we are growing increasingly closer as a team.” The midfielder named both games against SSV Jahn Regensburg as an example of this, saying “We lost the first game 4-1. But, we had only been playing together for a few weeks at that point. Now, we have grown and won the last game 2-1.”

The defensive midfielder knows that there were still some rough patches in the game against Regensburg. “We didn’t play as well as we did in the 5-0 win in Aue. However, we still took all three points. If you want to compete at the top, then you have to win games like that,” said Pálsson.

Dimitrios Grammozis made several changes for the game against Regensburg. Pálsson, who has deputised as captain during Danny Latza’s absence, finds it good that players are able to come off the bench and bring new energy into the game. Every player has the quality to start, he said. “Competition within the squad is always good. That has an impact on everyone’s performance, as no one is able to rest on their laurels. Every player also knows that they are important and needed. After all, there’s always something that could happen, a suspension, injuries, or Covid-19.”

Pálsson has played most of his matches this season in defensive midfield, a position he would like to keep. “I give it 100% in every training session, and want to improve every day,” said the 30-year-old. Aside from the team playing well, the right-footer has one more personal goal: “It would be nice to score,” he said. “A few of the lads have jokingly pointed out that I still haven’t gotten one.”