One day after Dortmund – Four days before Kaiserslautern

1. FC Kaiserslautern will travel to the WIRSOL Rhein-Neckar-Arena on Thursday, May 23rd for the first leg of the relegation play-off match with TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. achtzehn99.de will keep you informed of all the details leading up to the match over the coming days.

Manager and players

At exactly ten o'clock on Sunday morning, the first few players made their way out of the locker room and onto the training pitches in Zuzenhausen for a light session. They went back inside a short while later to work with the coaching staff on regeneration – an important factor ahead of Thursday's game. Manager Markus Gisdol and players Sejad Salihovic and Koen Casteels took some questions from reporters following the training session.

Salihovic, who scored both of TSG's goals from the penalty spot in Dortmund, said: “We experienced something incredibly special yesterday but we haven't achieved anything yet. It all starts again on Thursday. Now we have our top-flight status back in our own hands.” Koen Casteels, who put in an incredible performance in Saturday's win, added: “I was nervous ahead of the match and spoke to Andreas Beck about the atmosphere in the stadium. Their early goal wasn't a good start for us, but then Dortmund warmed me up with a few shots and then I felt that I was going to have a good day.”

The fans

Around 300 fans were waiting to see the players take to the training pitches on Sunday morning. They had hung a banner on the fence simply saying “Yeeessss!” After two laps of jogging around the pitch, the players came over to the fans to give them high fives and thank them for their support throughout the season and in Dortmund.

While the players returned indoors to undergo their regeneration, the fans used the time to relocate from the training pitches to the courtyard entrance. The players joined them later on to sign autographs before leaving.

The club

Several TSG staff members travelled with the squad to Dortmund on Saturday and were able to celebrate their side's victory. For many, there was another day of work in store less than 24 hours later, with lots of preparations to make for Thursday's game.

Shareholder Dietmar Hopp made a statement on behalf of the whole club:

“The seemingly impossible has happened. Our 3,600 travelling fans and a passionate, battling team have earned respect after our win against the Champions League finalists! We're grateful for the chance to play in the relegation play-off and we can look ahead with confidence.”

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