Huub Stevens: What matters is the here and now

“Guido is back to training and it’s possible that he will play,” said Huub Stevens. A final decision on whether or not the Austrian-born striker will be part of the lineup will only be made after the final training session before the match. The same goes for Daniel Caligiuri (ankle injury) and Amine Harit (ligament injury), who have been strong under Stevens’s program and shouldn’t be counted out of the lineup against Bremen.

DFB Pokal a different competition than Bundesliga

According to Stevens, the team’s latest victory (1-0 against Hannover) helped raise their morale. But, at the same time, he stressed that Schalke’s current position in the Bundesliga is not good enough. “As a result, we want to get out of the bottom of the table as quickly as possible, ” the 65-year-old said.

For the team, the DFB-Pokal is a completely different competition. During training, the players have been fully focused on their upcoming match. “The impression I got from them is a positive one,” Stevens said.

Together with the rest of the coaching staff, Stevens has closely studied their opponent’s playing style. “Werder are always moving, ” he said. “We’ll have to be paying close attention to them. ”

Stevens hasn’t decided yet if he’s going to discuss Schalke’s two German Cup wins in 2001 and 2002, during his previous stint as head coach, with his players. “That was a long time ago and plays no role,” the coach said. “The past is not important, what matters is the here and now. I think that the players are highly motivated to want to experience what it’s like playing in a final in Berlin. ”