Schmidt: “We want to try and keep things normal”
First Team
04.03.2020, 15:12
After a narrow 3-2 loss at home to Gladbach, FC Augsburg are now preparing for a trip to record champions FC Bayern on Sunday, 8th March (15:30 CET). At the end of a public training session, head coach Martin Schmidt discussed…
…the preparations for Sunday’s game: “We are training just like we normally do. We want to try and keep things normal ahead of playing Bayern and not hype up the game too much. This is deliberate, as we know that others will already be hyping up the game. It’s important that we do as many exercises in training that the players are familiar with, so that they can go into the game with a lot of confidence. I have already noticed, however, that the players are concentrating harder.”
…analysing Bayern’s win at Schalke: “We’ve obviously seen their last few games. They have all gone differently due to their opponents. The most interesting thing is how teams approach facing Bayern. We will work out our own plan going into our game with them.”
…the coronavirus: “We’ve not been told anything about games being called off. We’ll just treat it like the flu really. We won’t be touching each other’s hands as much and will use hand sanitiser. We’ll also be careful when we’re out and about. We can go about our business fairly normally right now though.”
…the insults aimed at Dietmar Hopp and the subsequent stoppages in games: “I have full confidence in the officials. The DFL have drawn up a plan for such situations. I won’t be advising my players on what to do if anything happens. We want things to run like normal. I hope it will be calm on Sunday and that we can all concentrate on football again. Last weekend was a shame, as a lot of the reports from grounds weren’t focusing on the football. There are other problems in society right now that need to be solved. Football should be something that provides us with joy.”
