Hartel: "The stability comes from hard work"
Wednesday, 15. November 2023, 10:30 Uhr
It's international break time again, the last of the current year. The Boys in Brown continue to work hard, though, and after training on Tuesday Marcel Hartel took time out to speak to the media.
Marcel Hartel on…
...the international break: "We're working very hard in preparation for the friendly against Braunschweig. We want to give a good account of ourselves and are taking the game very seriously. We'll have a couple days off to recover after that and then we'll go into next week. The international break can be beneficial for us as a team because it gives us an opportunity to work on our tactics in more detail. Everyone knows what it's about, but I wouldn't have had any objections if we were back in action in the league again this weekend."
...the consistency of the team: "The stability comes from the hard work we're putting into training week in, week out, which we then try to put into practice when we play. It's working very well. The mood in the squad is excellent, both on and off the pitch. You can feel it and that's the reason we feel so good as a team on the pitch, though we know there are still aspects of our play that we need to work on and improve. Against Hannover there were again some minor things we have to do better if we want to be even more successful."
...the upcoming crosstown derby at home: "The friendly at Braunschweig is all we're thinking about at the moment. We then have the away game at Rostock and only then can we talk about HSV. Being at the top is obviously great for both Hamburg clubs, but we'd do well to focus on ourselves and take the next few games as they come."
Marcel Hartel and Co. put in a good performance against Hannover but had to settle for a scoreless draw.
...comparisons with the first half of the 2021-22 season: "It's hard to say what's the same and what's different. We had a very good team back then, too. It's hard to make comparisons because we again have a very good squad. We played very well in the first half of that season but struggled for continuity on the pitch, as we did last season. That's why the second half of the season didn't go the same as the first two years ago. Our goal is to have a positive first and second half of the season this time and we're working very hard with that in mind."
...getting promoted with Union Berlin and Arminia Bielefeld: "I obviously gained experience in the two promotion campaigns I was involved in, and I try to share that experience with the lads, but it's mainly general stuff and not just things to do with getting promoted. I've been trying even harder to share my experience this year because I have a certain responsibility. I want that responsibility and that's why I feel partly obliged to pass on my experience."
...the run-in to Christmas: "It'll come down to consistency. We have to keep picking up points and that's exactly what we've been good at so far. We have to keep trying to maintain this continuity and if we can do that, I'm confident this consistency will see us pick up even more points in the remaining games this year."
Photos: Witters
