Thomas Reis on the starting XI, goalkeepers and the final friendly against FC Twente

Thomas, you’ve got almost everyone on board a good week before the season starts. You also have a bit of a selection dilemma…
And I’m happy about that! I like having to make decisions because it means that we have different options. The lads have done really well in pre-season, they’ve gone along with what we’ve wanted them to do and pushed themselves. They’ll all want a place in the starting XI in Hamburg. The match against FC Twente and the subsequent training week will give us final impressions, then we’ll decide.

One question that the fans are asking is who will play in goal in Hamburg. Ralf Fährmann hasn’t been able to train with the team just yet. What are you thinking?Even though Ralle is making progress everyday with his injury recovery, the friendly against Twente and the game in Hamburg will come too soon for him. He’s currently training individually and will be reintroduced into team training step-by-step over the coming weeks.

What does that mean for the games against Twente and Hamburg?
Marius Müller will play in goal. The current situation underlines his importance for the team and why we signed him. I’m convinced that he’ll do a good job with his charisma, his presence and his communication skills.

What will happen in the weeks that follow?
Ralle showed what he can do last season. That’s why he would’ve started the pre-season as our first choice. The injury has unfortunately set him back. Until he’s 100% again, we don’t want to take any unnecessary risks and we’ll give him the time that he needs. As soon as he’s back to full fitness, we’ll revalue the situation in goal. We’ll see exactly when that will be over the coming weeks.

How would you assess the goalkeeping team overall?
Im very happy with our options in goal. Justin Heekeren is hungry young player who is being brought back slowly after his serious knee injury in the winter. Behind him, Michi Langer is important for us not only on the pitch as a safe pair of hands, but also in the dressing room.

What impressions are you hoping to get as a coaching team from the friendly against FC Twente?
We want to see what we’ve been working on in recent weeks, especially what we did in the training camp. Our procedures, our build-up play and also our work off the ball. We’ll take a close look at all of that in order to know what we need to work on in the week leading up to the Hamburg game.