Thorup: “We want to keep our focus”
FCA away in Mönchengladbach
First Team
20.02.2025, 15:00
Saturday’s trip to Borussia Mönchengladbach (15:30 CET) could see FC Augsburg surpass their best-ever unbeaten run under Jess Thorup. The FCA head coach always has one eye on the table, but his primary focus is on the “small goals”.
“The Leipzig game was a clear step up from my point of view. We were much closer to getting the win than in our previous games. It’s also nice to have shown that we can get results against a top-five side,” was Thorup’s assessment of last week’s match at the WWK ARENA. His side are now on a run of six Bundesliga games without defeat, equalling their best streak under the Dane. The meeting with Gladbach now offers a chance to break that record, exactly the kind of motivating factor the coach is after: “We want to keep our focus and chase the small goals,” explained Thorup. Instead of dwelling on the league standings, he prefers to put more emphasis on developing the team and individual players.
Nevertheless, the 54-year-old, who will celebrate his 55th birthday on Friday ahead of what will be his 50th Bundesliga game, knows that his team can take advantage of this run of results: “We need to keep this momentum going and win our next game.” Despite an improved performance against Leipzig, the Fuggerstädter will still have to up their game in attack if they want to take all three points back from Mönchengladbach. “That’s not just down to the forwards; it’s a team effort. You can’t win games without goals, we’re well aware of that, and we need to improve in that department,” insisted Thorup. The Foals have picked up the second-most points in the league since the halfway point of the season, and the FCA boss considers them the division’s form team. “Gladbach are playing well at the moment and are on a very good run. It won’t be easy for us on Saturday.”
Gouweleeuw’s contract extended
After triggering an appearance clause in his contract, Jeffrey Gouweleeuw’s stay at FC Augsburg has automatically been extended until 30th June 2026. “Jeff has had an outstanding season so far. I’m delighted that he will be with us for another year,” said his head coach. Keven Schlotterbeck is an option again after missing the Leipzig game through illness, while Arne Maier has also recovered from sickness and is back in full team training. Marius Wolf also looks to be available despite picking up a knock to his calf. However, Thorup isn’t expecting Robert Gumny to return until around the March international break.
