Pirmin Schwegler: “The air there is unbelievable”

Hello, Pirmin. You no doubt would have preferred to have gone into the international break with a victory...

Pirmin Schwegler: Of course. It's not nice having to wait such a long time to make it right. It'll be a while before we can play again. It's easier to go into the break on the back of a victory, but we're looking ahead. We can't change the past anymore. We can only analyse the game and work on things that we didn't do well.

Eleven players are away on international duty. How does that alter training?

Schwegler: Obviously, it's a bit different. Working on our shape and tactics becomes a bit more difficult because a lot of our regular players are unavailable. We can't play an 11v11 practice match. Nevertheless, we can still train well and work on a few other things. Almost every team in the Bundesliga has players away on international duty; it isn't a problem exclusive to us.

After suffering from injury at the start of the season, you're now starting to play regularly, having made seven starts. Are you happy to be playing again?

Schwegler: I played in pre-season before my injury and was adapting to the team quite easily. I was feeling good before I picked up the injury, so obviously it's frustrating. I was made welcome here from day one; everyone made the transition easy for me.

How do you see your role in Markus Gisdol's system?

Schwegler: I feel strongest where I'm currently playing, as one of the holding midfielders. But at the end of the day, I don't mind where I play. The manager always picks the team who he thinks are most likely to win the game. I don't mind if I have to play in another position. We want to pick up points and that's all that matters.

Winter is coming. You come from Switzerland. How good are you at skiing?

Schwegler: I don't get to do it often anymore but I do enjoy going to the mountains. The air there is unbelievable; I can really unwind there. I can't ski that well and the injury risk is pretty high so I don't do it frequently. Once I've stopped playing football I can see myself getting back into it.

Alpine skiing is a big deal in your homeland of Switzerland. Do you follow the World Cup on TV?

Schwegler: We used to all watch it together on TV – back in the days when Switzerland were strong in all disciplines. The rivalry with Austria is obviously something very special. At least we're better than the Germans, but they are catching up, just like we are doing in football (laughs).