"A special opportunity" | OneFootball

Ole Werner has reached the quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal for the first time with SVW (Photo: W.DE).

Press conference ahead of cup quarter-final in Bielefeld

SV Werder Bremen will come up against Arminia Bielefeld on Tuesday evening (25th February, 20:45 CET), with a spot in the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal on the line. Ahead of the game, head coach Ole Werner spoke about…

…the defeat in Freiburg: "We all have to be self-critical, which is exactly what I've done myself. Then, you look to speak to a couple of players individually as well. Everyone played a part in the defeat and the team know which areas I'm responsible for. Now, it's up to all of us to change what we can. It hasn't happened to us often, where the wheels have just come off as a team. Now's not the time to discuss what happened, as we did this yesterday already. Our focus now is on the cup game."

…being the favourites: "It's about making the most of what's already a special opportunity for us. We worked hard to earn this opportunity and we now face a tough challenge, one that we want to tackle with confidence. We're the favourites and want to show that we're worthy of this role. But, we also know that it won't be easy. There will be moments where we'll have possession but Bielefeld won't just sit back and park the bus. It will be important to remain compact at the back and set pieces will also be key."

...the atmosphere: "Bielefeld have proven their quality already this season, not just in the Pokal but also in the 3. Liga, and are a real force at home. We will need to be prepared, as we're not just up against their 11 players on the pitch, but nearly the entire stadium will also be against us. We need to support each other on the pitch when things aren't going well and will have to generate confidence from our actions."

"Get back on track"

…potential changes to the team: "It's a good thing that several players have been able to return, but some haven't been back for long. We won't take all our strikers to the game. We have different types of players in our squad and will see what we decide to do. We'll be able to make adjustments depending on what we come up against. Another factor to consider is which players are in good form."

…opponents Bielefeld: "We will prepare the same way we always do, which also includes video analysis of Bielefeld's previous Pokal games. We've been able to form a good understanding of our opponents. It's a bit different when talking about the weekly league preparations, but they always make things tough for their opponents. Bielefeld are a team that have a strong structure and they are strong on the ball as well, meaning that we will need to find ways of withstanding this."

…the current situation: "To a certain degree, it's also normal to have situations where certain players are absent and you find yourself with a string of poor results and performances. It's nothing unexpected or that you aren't prepared for as head coach of Werder Bremen. It's up to us to continue working and giving everything to get back on track. In general, we can defend better than we have been. Sometimes, you have to work to earn your luck in football, which is something that we have maybe not been doing enough of."

…a potential penalty shootout: "It's not the case that we do any extra practice. It's something that we do depending on the game and who will be playing. But, we're hoping to be able to avoid it coming down to a shootout."