Miron Muslic: We will make the most of every day we have to prepare

Miron Muslic on …

… the short winter break:
The time off was good for all of us – including me. The last few months had been very intensive, meaning that we all needed a short break to switch off, reset and recharge our batteries so we can tackle the second half of the season together. At the medical checks and performance tests on 2nd January and during the first two sessions on the pitch the day after, I could see that the lads were full of energy and drive. You can already sense how much everyone is looking forward to the first competitive game of the year in Berlin in 14 days’ time. During my car journey back to Gelsenkirchen on New Year’s Day, I already couldn’t wait for the start of training and to see the team again.

… preparations for the second half of the season:
We have two weeks. That is a short period of time, so we want to and will make the most of every day we have to prepare. Some of the lads who played a lot before Christmas have been given an extended break. Those eight players will return to training on Tuesday (6/1). They were on the pitch almost continuously over the last weeks and months and had to cope with a heavy workload.

… the weather conditions:
It’s just like in Tyrol (laughs). Jokes aside, the weather is not an issue for us. The pitches here at the club are fitted with undersoil heating and are green, so we can train well on them. If you fly south during a short winter break and experience temperatures of 20 degrees or more, you need a few days to reacclimatise to the freezing temperatures in Germany when you get back. Over the next few weeks, though, we will experience these kinds of conditions, including in matches. Therefore, we can prepare for the second half of the season in Gelsenkirchen in the best possible manner.

… his aims for the remainder of the campaign:
We want to keep working hard and continue with this spirit and high-intensity culture within the club. If we can do that, we’ll be on a good trajectory in the coming weeks and months. We will not change our strategy from the past six and a half months. We’re taking it game by game, week by week and day by day. We’ve improved a lot, particularly defensively. However, we also know that we need to step it up a notch in attack and perform better in front of goal. Despite this, we still picked up 37 points in the first half of the season. I’m confident that the lads used this break to catch their breath and that they’re now ready to take the next step as a group. We have a clear plan which we will follow.

… the last three games before the winter break:
We lost a bit of the intensity that was our trademark in the first three and a half months. This happens when a few players are unavailable and others are being pushed to the limits because of their high workload. Despite how critical of ourselves we are internally, we managed to pick up six points out of nine in the last three games against Düsseldorf, Nürnberg and Braunschweig. We know we can do better, though. At the same time, we’re also aware that we’ve had to cope with a lot of players being unavailable. Therefore, I’m hoping that many of the lads who have been missing recently can get back to full fitness so we can train with high intensity in every session. The competition for places has made us very strong in the first few months of the campaign. If you train well, you’ll be rewarded with game time.