Hannover 96: "We’ve got it right"

NIEMALSALLEIN

The announcement that two of his regular starters have injuries is not a reason for Tayfun Korkut to give up hope. In a press conference, the 96-manager spoke about pre-season, the successful transfer window and about the character of the team.

27.08.2014

The team can compensate for injuries
“The world’s not going under,” said Tayfun Korkut about Lars Stindl and Edgar Prib’s injuries. “These risks go hand in hand with the job and is something that I have to accept.” He has complete trust in his squad. “We saw against Schalke that the team can compensate for Lars Stindl’s injury.” It will be a few weeks until the duo re-join the team on the pitch. “Both players were in such good shape, which makes it even more annoying,” said Korkut.

Match winner on Saturday, now has to take a forced break: Edgar Prib.

Positive results from pre-season
Two months have passed since the 40-year-old led his team onto the training pitch for the first time after the summer break. Hannover 96 have achieved a lot in this time. Old players left, new faces arrived. The team must now come together. “I think that we’ve made some good signings during the transfer window. The new players fit in here,” said Korkut. The two most important factors Korkut looks at when signing a new player, “Does he fit in with our footballing style and what does his mentality and character look like? Football is a team sport and a unified team can overcome the toughest of moments.”

Decision for the team
Nevertheless, having a big squad is also very important. Not all players can feature in the starting XI. “The substitutes really impressed me on Saturday,” said the manager about his players. “In particular Artur Sobiech, although he only made a short appearance.”

New signing Jimmy Briand took part in his first training session with 96 on Tuesday.

New signings start to find their feet
After the second match of the season on Sunday against 1. FSV Mainz 05, the Bundesliga will have a one week break for international matches. The 96-manager sees this as a positive thing, “This is important for the new players. They can find their stride and raise their game in the friendlies.” This will be the case for Jimmy Briand, who didn’t take part in training with Olympique Lyon from the end of last season, so he will have to be slowly built up.