Kovac on...
... the personnel situation: "Carlos Salcedo's had surgery. We've seen the pictures and it doesn't look good, so it's frustrating and a real shame. I hope he'll recover quickly – in terms of being ready for the World Cup, too. Omar Mascarell's making progress. He's not running again yet, but he's getting there. He's got another check-up this week and then we'll know more. Otherwise everyone else is available. Marco Fabián and Ante Rebic are still a bit tired after their game in Dallas during the international break. It was a draining trip but they should be ready by Sunday."
… how his squad is shaping up after the international break: "After a break it's never easy for a coach to organise everything and get things back to how they were beforehand. You need to see what's what at first, but I'm optimistic. It's been a good week and I'm satisfied. I hope we can implement the things we've been working on in training at the weekend."
… Werder Bremen: "Florian Kohfeldt's doing really well in Bremen. He deserves credit for that. It's down to him that Bremen are where they are. He's got his side playing dynamic, attractive and results-driven football. They're enjoyable to watch. It's going to be a very tough game against a side who are on a level with us. They've got the potential to be right up at the top again. We'll need to work hard to get anything from the game, especially given we're playing in Bremen and they'll have their supporters behind them. I'm confident we can pick up points there too, though."
… his side’s chances of qualifying for European competition at the end of the season: "I've spoken to the players about it and the guys are aware of the situation. We've got a difficult run-in so it won't be easy to stay in the position we're in. Still, we want to give it everything we've got and we'll see where we end up at the end of the season. We've got a unique opportunity to qualify for Europe but you don't achieve anything just by talking. We need to work hard in the next seven or eight weeks, take things step by step and give our absolute best."
