Against Bremen: Step onto the pitch as a team

After the Augsburg game, there were a few difficult days for Gisdol and his team. “Of course you question yourself as a manager. Not only after one defeat, but constantly,” explained the manager. Another step towards development, something he has given his team plenty of time to do, is clear from their self-criticism after their last performance. “They came to me and explained clearly when and what they had done wrong,” said Gisdol.

Against Bremen, the manager says he wants his side to take to the field as a team. “If we want to be a team, then we must smooth out our mistakes together,” he explained. “Maybe we were missing that against Augsburg, but in all the previous games this season, that team-focus has been fantastic.”

Inconsistent Bremen

The team are lacking a certain security with only 13 points, something that would have been present with 22 points, and that has added focus to the importance of the game against Bremen. That's why the manager worked “hard and intensively” with the team during the week. A tactics board was constantly taken onto the pitch, as training was interrupted and tactics were explained.

What does Gisdol expect from Bremen? “Werder are difficult to predict. They won the first two games of the season and survived on that for a while. Their performances have dropped recently, but they've balanced weak games with convincing ones.” He didn't want to say too much about the strengths and weakness of their opponents. “We are doing well concentrating on us and our own performance,” said Gisdol.

Line-up? Wait for it!

Hoffenheim can call on nearly a full squad. Sejad Salihovic and Fabian Johnson, who enjoyed reduced training on Wednesday, returned to full team-training on Thursday afternoon. Stefan Thesker will definitely be out – the defender incurred a ligament rupture in his right ankle and will be out up to and after the winter break.

Whether or not Gisdol will make changes to his starting eleven against Robin Dutt's Bremen side, was something he clearly wanted to keep to himself. The team, said the manager, will be picked on Friday after the final training session. Until then, he wants to take his time and see who most wants a starting berth.

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