“Do what we can to make sure that this record remains positive” | OneFootball

Ole Werner has won four of his seven meetings with VfB Stuttgart (Photo: W.DE).

Press conference ahead of away game vs. VfB Stuttgart

SV Werder Bremen travel to face VfB Stuttgart on Sunday, 13th April (15:30 CEST). Head coach Ole Werner is hoping to carry the momentum from the team’s recent results with them into this weekend’s clash with the Swabians. Read on for all the key quotes from today’s press conference on…

…Milos Veljkovic: “He’s slowly making progress. He’s dealing with a calf issue, which is why he’s still unavailable this week. We’re aiming to increase his workload next week and then we’ll see whether he’s ready to return.”

…opponents Stuttgart: “It will be tough, but nice. Both teams look to play precise passes and we’ll be up against last season’s runners-up. They have a lot of quality, both as a team and on an individual level. We want to do what we did earlier this season and give them a good game. At the same time, we know that it won’t be easy.”

…his positive record against Stuttgart: “I’ve never really spent much time thinking about it. I like playing in Stuttgart as they have an impressive, big stadium. However, it’s not easy to come away from there with a win. We’ll do what we can to make sure that this record remains positive.”

…facing former Green-White Nick Woltemade: “We know him well and so do our team. What’s impressive is that he has a strong technical ability, in addition to his physical presence. He’s always able to make a difference. We will need to find the right balance of how to defend well against him. I'm always happy to see him and I enjoyed working with him. We’ll do our best to prepare ourselves not only for him, but for VfB Stuttgart as well.”

…Ermedin Demirovic’s scoring streak: “We don’t prioritise one player over another. We’re preparing ourselves to face VfB Stuttgart, as well as individual players — Demirovic is one of them. They have a lot of quality at every position. It doesn’t matter who will start in attack. We’re preparing ourselves to face each and every one of them.”

"There's still a lot that can happen"

Ole Werner has won three of his last four games with SV Werder (Photo: W.DE).

…options within the matchday squad: “With the exception of Milos, everyone else is in training and fit to feature. It was a different situation at the start of the second half of the season, because several players were only just returning from injury. At the time, we were trying to find some semblance of stability. We now have more options available again and the quality of our training sessions has increased. As a result, I have some tough decisions to make and I will try to put together the best starting line-up possible.”

…movement in the table at the end of the season: “I don’t let this influence me. I’m not concerned about what could happen. Together with my coaching staff, I’m focused on finding solutions for things that we can influence. That’s what we do when we win and also when we lose. There are always moments during the season where things don’t go well, and during those times is when I prefer to ficus on concrete aspects that we can find solutions to. It’s better if we remain focused on our situation and continue working quietly. That’s how we work best. Let the others talk. We want to take the maximum from our last six games this season — there’s a lot still possible and we think we’re well set up for what still lies ahead of us.”

...André Silva: “He wasn’t happy with his game time lately. If I put myself in his shoes, I can fully understand where he’s coming from. I explained my decision-making process to him and that I decided on a different combination in attack against Kiel and Frankfurt. He’s been very professional about it and he’s a great guy. Others can look to him as an example. We still have six games left and everyone can state their case. We have plenty of options with six strikers that all want to play. That helps the team and is also very positive for us.”