Rouven Schröder: The market is moving around more and more

Rouven Schröder on…

… Ralf Fährmann’s contract extension:

Discussions of this kind are usually anything but easy, but these ones were very constructive from the start. We ended up with a wage structure that everyone agreed to. This contract extension helps us a lot as a club, and the club is always the most important thing.

… Rabbi Matondo’s loan move:

Rabbi will get more game time out in Brugge than here in Gelsenkirchen, so the transfer to Cercle made sense for all parties involved. When the inquiry was first made, we quickly came to the decision with the player and his representatives that a transfer was the best solution for everyone.

… movements in the transfer market:

Three weeks before the end of the transfer window in Germany and many European countries, the picture starts to become clearer. However, the market changes all the time and we are not yet in the final stages of the window in terms of departures, even if the situation is different from a couple of weeks ago. Any interested parties have to make their plans more and more concrete by the day. I won’t comment on any rumours either from within Germany or from foreign countries. The main thing is always this: If there is a transfer to be made, then we will make it.

… Matthew Hoppe:

After coming back from the Gold Cup, Matthew caught a stomach infection, which he is still fighting now. Of course, he therefore can’t take part in training at the moment. We’ll have him back training when he’s 100% fit and can help the team, as we would do with any other player. When Matthew is back to his best, I will look forward to seeing the strengths which he can bring to the team.

… the 4-1 win in the DFB-Pokal against Villingen:

Our goal was to get to the second round, which we did in style. That’s in contrast to a few other teams playing lower-division opponents, who were favourites but had a tough time or got knocked out. Of course, not everything in Villingen was absolutely perfect, but that’s normal at this early stage of the season. What’s important is that the team can look at their performance and evaluate it themselves and be self-critical even after a victory. What I’ve really enjoyed seeing is how the lads have taken the coaching of Dimitrios Grammozis on board. We saw that towards the end of the first half, where there were two goals in two minutes which put us on the path to victory.

… the upcoming fixture against Aue:

We will be facing a highly motivated team – Aue have shown in the last few years how to be successful in the 2. Bundesliga. You have to have good team spirit, passion, and organisation, as well as players who can make a difference. Through all of that, our message is clear: We want to win the game, and will be fully focused on preparing for it.