Striking the right balance

The delight from the win over FC Augsburg has led to a good mood in camp this week. The blue-and-whites got back to work at Schenckendorffplatz on Tuesday afternoon (09/03/21). The players tasted victory for the first time in 63 days on Saturday, a fifth win of the campaign in total. It gives us momentum, but it’s only the first step. The team has to keep grinding away and, above all else, getting points. The atmosphere on the training ground was one of desire, motivation and respect for the games to come. “In this situation there is nothing better than winning. It’s always a nice feeling and you can see that positivity in the lads in training,” said head coach Pál Dárdai, who led his men onto the pitch to start the week’s work.

Radonjić returns but quartet remain sidelined

The session lasted exactly 100 minutes and the Hungarian delivered a lesson in transition play and quick ball distribution. There were some intense tackles and noteworthy goals that drew applause from the rest of the team. “In training we work on doing things under pressure and the players have to use their heads,” said the Hertha head coach. Nemanja Radonjić took part in full training after recovering from an adductor issue. Dedryck Boyata (foot), Sami Khedira (calf) and Matheus Cunha (thigh) missed out while Eduard Löwen trained individually to manage his workload. “I can’t give any update regarding Matheus and Sami. Unless there’s a small miracle they won’t be with us in Dortmund. Nemanja will train as normal this week. On Friday we will assess whether he can help us this weekend,” said the boss.

Meeting fire with fire

Regardless of who is available, the 44-year-old recognises the importance of the meeting with Borussia Dortmund (13/03/21, 18:30 CET). "We’re definitely not going to Dortmund just to play football. We are going there with a plan,” said Dárdai, looking ahead to the weekend. “So far, we’ve made every team we’ve face sweat. We will set up to attack Dortmund with two strikers and the lads will have license to get forward. We have nothing to lose!” The matchday 25 fixture will have a big effect on whether the good mood around camp persists into the weeks to come