"We are still alive"

The relief in the Blue-White camp was clear for all to see as the players stood in the mixed zone following a hard-fought 2-1 win against VfB Stuttgart. At the same time, it was emphasised that these three points will have to be just the first step in a challenging path to survival. “That was a crucial game. If we had not won it then it would probably be over – as it is, we are still alive,” underlined Stevan Jovetić, who along with his teammates will take on Köln on Friday. “It’s still not an easy situation, we have to keep fighting with the right mentality, persistence and character,” said the Montenegro international and added his confidence in Hertha achieving their aim at the end of the season: “Do I still believe that we can stay up? Definitely!” herthabsc.com has all the immediate reaction to the win against VfB Stuttgart.

Oliver Christensen: It was our aim to win this first game. We said before the game that we would give our all and as a team we proved that. We stayed secure and everyone threw into blocking every ball. The support here was just brilliant, like it has been the whole season – we need our fans! We still haven’t achieved anything though, the focus is now on Köln on Friday and we will have to be ready again for that.

Stevan Jovetić: That was a crucial game. If we had not won it then it would probably be over – as it is, we are still alive. The good thing is that we were able to help ourselves against a direct rival, and we did that here. We have to look at ourselves, that is really important. It’s still not an easy situation, we have to keep fighting with the right mentality, persistence and character. Do I still believe that we can stay up? Definitely!

Marc Kempf: I already had a good feeling before the game that we would get the three points. It has not changed our position much– we are still right in amongst it at the bottom. The most important thing is that we gave ourselves a chance. The way we played is also very important – in contrast to last week, we had the luck we needed this time. We knew the importance of this game, so it is very nice that I was able to help the team with a goal. It’s always special to score a goal as a defender.

Maximilian Mittelstädt: We are happy to have got an extremely important win. It shows that we are still alive but we can’t stop here. We defended together, attacked together and we earned these three points together. If we didn’t believe in ourselves anymore then there would be no need to keep playing. This game has shown that it’s right for us to believe still. We have to approach the next games with exactly this mentality, this intensity and this togetherness and then we still have every chance. Lots have already written us off, but we have shown that we’re still alive, still here and have to be dealt with. Sometimes it’s good when no one expects anything of you anymore.

Florian Niederlechner: This was an important first step. Everyone knew that with a point or a defeat really it was probably over. I am proud of the boys, everyone fought just like you have to in a relegation battle. The atmosphere was unbelievably good, it was a really great home game but we have to stay grounded now. Now, it is about working hard during the week and then it’s off to Cologne. It will be a difficult game, but if we play like this there, I have high hopes that we will pick up three points. Obviously, there is lots of pressure, but we are also responsible for that. Really it’s taken too long to score my first goal for Hertha, but I knew that the chance would come if you work hard. Luckily, I managed to do that, it was obviously a good moment, doubly important because we picked up three points. I won three games in a row with Augsburg during the first half of the season, it’s definitely possible. You just need self-confidence and we have picked some of that up here.

Marvin Plattenhardt: Obviously, we are happy with the three points. We have finally won a game again after a long time, but we have not decided anything or achieved anything yet. Lots of things went well, but we still have to improve certain things. First things first, we tried to have a solid defensive structure and defend well over 90 minutes. Still, we were at home and didn’t want to hide, but to be brave – that was the key. It was also really important that we played as a team and fought until the end. This is a step in the right direction and we have to keep going now.