“We have increased the workload”

A fresh pitch at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, adjustments to training – is it all change ahead of our home fixture against Augsburg? Pál Dárdai probably wouldn’t go quite that far, but the Hungarian did use this week to find new motivation in the day-to-day. “We increased the workload and cut back on the amount of information we relate to the players,” explained our coach at the press conference, underlining what he aims to achieve with these new measures: “We want the boys to go into the game with good fitness levels and clear heads!” The Hertha fans will be hoping for a repeat of the last time their team took on a side that had just beaten Bayern. On matchday eight, Hertha caught Eintracht Frankfurt off guard, beating them 2-1. “Augsburg play with a lot of team spirit and aggression. Beating FC Bayern gives one a lot of confidence, and the week after, things are going to feel a bit easier. The difficult thing is to evaluate a victory like that,” Fredi Bobic well knows. Dárdai and Bobic spoke here about...

Pál Dárdai: Stevan Jovetić will likely be part of the squad again. He trained individually this week; he knows his body and knows what he can manage. We will decide whether he and Vladimír Darida will be involved after our final training session, when both of them have worked with us one more time. Jurgen Ekkelenkamp is also an option for the number ten role, and it's something the coaching staff discussed before the press conference. He is creative and can hurt opponents.

Pál Dárdai: We have adjusted training, increased the workload and cut back on the amount of information we relate to the players in meetings. We want the boys to go into the game with good fitness levels and clear heads!

Fredi Bobic: Beating FC Bayern gives one a lot of confidence, and the week after, things are going to feel a bit easier. The difficult thing is to evaluate a victory like that, but even so, Augsburg play with a lot of team spirit and aggression. I wouldn't complain if we managed to get another win against a team who has just beaten FCB.

Pál Dárdai: The first game you play against your former club is always special - that goes for Arne Maier as well as Marco Richter. Marco is always motivated, no matter what. He is a good lad and I'm sure he will play well on the weekend.

Fredi Bobic: We are very happy to have Marco. He has settled in well which is important, and at the same time, he still has room to improve. We are keeping up with Arne as we do with all players out on loan. He had a difficult start, but has done well in recent weeks. Arne is a good guy and we will see whether the option to buy him is taken up. In any case, it’s good that he is getting game time in Augsburg at the moment. That is the most important thing for him.