Marcel Rapp previews season opener vs Greuther Fürth at Millerntor; Top-25 finish in 2. Bundesliga
Rapp: “The season starts in earnest now and we’re all looking forward to it”
Marcel Rapp has been speaking to the media before the visit of Fürth
Rapp: “The season starts in earnest now and we’re all looking forward to it”
Head coach Marcel Rapp has been speaking to the media before Sunday’s season opener against Greuther Fürth at the Millerntor (kick-off: 13.30 CET). Here are the key lines from his news conference…
…the sense of anticipation before the opening game : “It’s huge. We’ve been in training for a long time. As a coach, you always want to do more training but that said we’re ready to go. We’re at a level now, both physically and in terms of how we want to play football, where the campaign can begin. We’re delighted to be starting at home. We had a little taster last week, but the season starts in earnest now and we’re all looking forward to it.”
…the team news : “Gísli Thórdarson has been in training a few weeks longer than the rest of the lads. He’s made a good impression and is a candidate for a place in the squad. Eric Smith has been eased back in since he returned from his holiday and is ready to play, maybe not for 90 minutes just yet but 60 should be OK. He’ll definitely feature in the squad and is a contender to play. Sam Klein has resumed training and is in contention for a place the squad. Connor Metcalfe is sidelined along with the long-term absentees, but he’ll be back in training next week.”
…Jackson Irvine’s departure : “I’d spoken to him a couple of times on the phone and then we chatted a few times once he’d come back. I found him to be a nice person. We were very open and honest with each other, and I only have positive things to say about him. He quickly made it clear that he wanted to leave the club. Jacko left his mark here, but we can still be successful without him. Our journey goes on, and we wish him all the best.”
…on getting the fans on board : “What I see is a group of players who have desire, who are giving their all and who are raring to go, and that’s what we want to bring to the pitch. You could see what it’s meant to look like in our last friendly. We won tackles, we had lots of moments in the box and we wanted to dictate the play. People should see we want to win. We have the lads to do that, but they need to prove it.”
…the target for this season : “It’s difficult to set a target in the second division. The club set itself a target of being in the top 25 some time ago. It’s a realistic target for us to be in that bracket even though we know there’s room for improvement and how tough it can be for teams who’ve been relegated to the second division. For us it’s about making amends. That starts in training and continues when we play. We’ll take things one game at a time and that starts on Sunday.”
…his experience at Kiel after relegation from the Bundesliga : “You can’t compare the two clubs, but there are lessons you can learn from the experience. There’s always a shake-up in the squad when you go down and we had that at Kiel, too. You have to deal with it. When I see the spirit and the mood in the group and the quality in training, I know we’re on the right track. I’m confident. Basically, we’re going in the right direction.”
…opening-day opponents Fürth : “They put in some good performances towards the end of last season and got some good results and they’ve continued in that vein in their pre-season friendlies. Their brand of football is very good. We’re up against a team who’ll come here full of confidence. They’ve got quality, but we’ve prepared well. We’re in good nick and we’re determined to take all three points.”
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