Dimitrios Grammozis: Maintaining the momentum from the Frankfurt victory

“We want to maintain the momentum from the Frankfurt match. We beat a strong side with a good performance in that game,” said the 42-year-old ahead of the clash with The Billy Goats. The match is enormously important for Köln and will decide their fate with regard to Bundesliga survival. Only a home win for Friedhelm Funkel’s team will give them a realistic chance of beating the drop.

Looking for a win for the fans

Despite the importance of the game for Saturday’s opponents, the only thing that counts for Grammozis is the success of his own team. The ultimate goal is to give the fans a victory to end the season with following a difficult Bundesliga campaign for S04. In addition to this, it’s also key for the players to end the season on a positive note after the numerous disappointments of the past year, so that the Royal Blues can make a strong start to next season.

The win against Frankfurt gave the atmosphere in the quarantine training camp a big boost, reports Grammozis, who identified his team’s compactness as a decisive factor in the victory. “That was crucial. It enabled us to win the ball back frequently so that we were able to launch counterattacks,” emphasised the coach.

Huntelaar and Rönnow doubts for Saturday

Grammozis will be able to call upon more or less the same squad against Köln that he had at his disposal in the matches against Hertha BSC and Eintracht Frankfurt. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is doubt for the game after he was substituted in the clash against the Eagles following a heavy blow to his lower leg. “We’ll have to keep an eye on him and decide closer to the time whether he is fit,” said Grammozis. The same applies to Frederik Rönnow, who sustained an injury in training after a collision and therefore has not been available recently. “We’ll wait and see how he looks in individual goalkeeper training today and in team training tomorrow,” continued S04’s coach. “Then we can make the decision about whether he can play.”