One day closer to Kaiserslautern clash...

Manager and players

After the players spent two days focusing on regeneration, Tuesday saw the intensive preparation for the Kaiserslautern clash begin. The players trained in the WIRSOL Rhein-Neckar-Arena in the afternoon with the team bus heading out to Sinsheim at around 16.00 CET. Manager Markus Gisdol had previously spoken to the media in a press conference. He explained that the personnel situation had not changed since the Dortmund game. That means that Tobias Weis remains unavailable.

An overview of the manager's statements:

“We have to keep hold of the joy and euphoria from the Dortmund game but at the same time concentrate on our football. Kaiserslautern won't be gifting us anything so we have to give it 100 percent.”

“There is no favourite for me. FCK have had a good season and are very well equipped up front. Alexander Baumjohann likes to get up the wing and Mo Idrissou has great body strength, is a fantastic header of the ball and is difficult to keep under control.”

“The team has earned the chance to play in the relegation play-off over the last few weeks. Now we want to achieve a footballing miracle.”

“Both the home match and the away match are of equal importance. We're only focusing on the home match at the moment. We're not looking left or right, only straight ahead. Our fate is in our own hands now.”

“We have nothing to lose. We can only gain. We were out of it after 80 minutes in Bremen and after the first half in Dortmund, but now we're back in the game.”

“The pressure on the players on Thursday is no greater than it was in Dortmund.”

“There is no ideal result. We're focusing on the way we play our football.”

The fans

On Tuesday, the fans ensured that the WIRSOL Rhein-Neckar-Arena will be sold out for Thursday's game. As mentioned previously, the supporters club is working on the choreography. There is one thing we can reveal about it at the moment: it will be blue and white.

Manager Markus Gisdol also praised the fans in his press conference ahead of the game. “We have been given some sensational support by our fans in the last few weeks. We want to have every single one of them behind us on Thursday. We need an atmosphere so that the stadium becomes an inferno. The players have recognised how much the fans are getting behind them. Sunday morning after the Dortmund game was unbelievable.”

The club

Tuesday was the first regular work day ahead of both relegation play-off matches. There was intense activity at the offices in Zuzenhausen. Everyone was working hard to get everything ready for the home leg on Thursday. There's already a positive atmosphere brewing amongst the staff. Many of them were sharing their experiences from Saturday's thrilling match. Just like for the Dortmund game, there will be another coach loaded with staff heading for Kaiserslautern on Monday.

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