"We are a team"

Per Skjelbred has been at Hertha since his first loan deal in 2013 and since then when he is fit, he plays. The Norwegian has played 149 games in total for Hertha, with his invariable commitment and selflessness characterising the way he plays. Currently however, he finds himself in some unfamiliar territory having been an unused substitute in the last three games with the last game he started being a month ago against Mainz. “Per is a leader and it’s hard to leave a player like him on the bench,” said Pál Dárdai on Wednesday, going on to explain, “It will be good to have him in the side against Hamburg.”

Skjelbred spoke to herthabsc.de ahead of the match against his former club to talk about Hamburg and his feelings on the competition for places in Hertha’s midfield.

herthabsc.de: Per, coach Dárdai has promised you game time on Saturday. Do you like that idea?
Per Skjelbred: Of course! I am a footballer; I always want to play and help the team out on the pitch.

herthabsc.de: Since you’ve been at Hertha you’ve established yourself as a regular starter but in the last three matchdays you’ve found yourself on the bench. How have you been handling this situation?
Skjelbred: I can only give it my all in training! I’m 30 years old now and am not going to transform how I play, so I have to convince the manager of the quality I have because in the last few years I've been good at doing that. The boys that have played in the last few games have been solid defensively, above all in Munich but listen, we’re a team and everyone has to have their time on the bench, so it’s just my time. It’s all about success as a team and you have to respect how the coach wants to go about doing that. It’s simple and the coach has every right to do so but obviously I’d always love to play myself (grins).

herthabsc.de: Fabian Lustenberger, Vladimir Darida, Arne Maier, Niklas Stark, Ondrej Duda, Valentino Lazaro: in central midfield there is a lot of competition. Has the battle for places ever been so tough?
Skjelbred: I don’t think so! Since I’ve been here, we’ve always had good players in the middle of the park but now Arne has come along and he's gone about his business well. Before we had boys like Tolga Cigerci, Jens Hegeler and Peter Niemeyer. In this business, everyone has to fight for their place by giving their all in every training session and every match. For the coach, it’s not easy to make the personnel decisions.

herthabsc.de: Like every year you’re highly sought-after before the Hamburg game. What ties do you still have to your ex-club and do you still keep a close eye on them?
Skjelbred: From the 2013 side, there is only Dennis Diekmeier that I still keep in contact with. Our wives and children are friends and I like the city of Hamburg but apart from that, I hardly have any ties with my old team because there have been a lot of changes both in the team and the backroom staff. That’s why it doesn’t really affect me how they’re getting on at the minute but of course I still get asked why things aren’t going well over there. It’s especially confusing because Hamburg has all the attributes to be a top Bundesliga side.

herthabsc.de: HSV find themselves again with their backs against the wall. Christian Titz is the third coach they’ve had this season and many see the game against Hertha as their last chance to avoid relegation. How dangerous do you think this game is?
Skjelbred: It would be a huge mistake to underestimate HSV. Last time we went to Hamburg we came away with nothing but then we got the three points in the first half of the season, where they weren’t too much better off. Anyone in the Bundesliga can beat any other team on their day and especially after a change of coach, they will be fired up, so we have to be ready for a battle on the pitch and play as well as we know we can.

herthabsc.de: You currently sit eleventh in the table, seven points off of 16th place. We’ve spoken a lot about the opponents but what does this game mean for you?
Skjelbred: If we beat HSV we will have even more wind beneath our sails, so obviously it’s a massive opportunity for us. We’ve got a few winnable games coming up, at least where our chances are better than against Schalke and Bayern so we need to get a move on now.