“We've only completed part of the journey”
With exactly 500 games as a head coach in the Bundesliga, Felix Magath is not short of experience. This fact will help him to judge how Hertha’s next game away to Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday (15:30 CEST) will play out. The 68-year-old has not only visited Bielefeld several times as a coach, but also made appearances there during his playing career. “We’re expecting them to be a tough nut to crack. It’s always difficult to play there, let alone win points,” said Magath in his press conference ahead of the game against the 16th-placed side in the league table. Like their hosts, the Blue-Whites are in the fight for survival, and despite two wins for Hertha in their last two games, nothing has changed on that front for them. “We've made some steps in the direction of survival, but we've only completed part of the journey,” emphasised Magath. As ever, all the latest from the press conference is here at herthabsc.com.
Felix Magath on...
... the upcoming task:
Felix Magath: We’re expecting Bielefeld to be a tough nut to crack. It’s always difficult to play there, let alone win point. I’ve been on the pitch there myself, so I don’t need anyone else to tell me how it is. We need to show the right concentration and focus when we go about this game; Bielefeld will fight until the very last.
... the performance against Stuttgart:
Felix Magath: We fought brilliantly in the second half, gave the opponents very few chances and closed the game at the end. These are the things which Bielefeld will test us on, but we’re ready to fight against relegation this way!
... the permutations of results at the bottom:
Felix Magath: We've made some steps in the direction of survival, but we've only completed part of the journey. We’re focused on our upcoming task and nothing else, not anyone else’s results or any permutations. None of that matters – it’s only about the points in Bielefeld, and we want to collect them!
... Arminia’s recent change of head coach:
Felix Magath: A change of coach always influences your opponents, for sure. We need to watch them and analyse what aspects they’ve changed, but the first impression that we can to look back on the things we’ve taken away from games this season.