Adi Hütter on…
… the night after qualifying for the Europa League knockout stages: “I almost always sleep the same way - never that well, but I rarely have a bad night. I’m always thinking about what’s gone on and what lies in store. It was an enjoyable evening for everyone involved. Both the board and the players are very happy and satisfied, because we weren’t expecting to qualify for the last 32 of the Europa League with 12 points from four games. It really is an achievement for us.”
… upcoming opponents Schalke: “They definitely didn’t have a good start, losing their first five games, but they’ve managed to haul themselves out of trouble. Schalke played well against Galatasaray [in the UEFA Champions League] and play a similar way to us. They play in a 3-5-2 formation with two strikers - Guido Burgstaller and Breel Embolo, or maybe even Mark Uth. They are strong in the tackle, they’re playing much better than they were at the beginning of the season and they have a very strong team.”
… the key to Eintracht’s eight-game unbeaten run: “For me, the main thing is that we won seven and drew one of those eight games, not vice versa. In defence, Makoto Hasebe plays an important role as a calming influence who displays intelligence with and without the ball. The switch to a 3-5-2 system with two strikers did us good. On the whole, the players are in good enough physical condition to be able to outfight our opponents if necessary. Once again, we need to give all we’ve got against Schalke.”
… the current situation in the Bundesliga: “We want to cement our place near the top of the table. We’ve got 17 points, while Schalke have ten. A win would take us on to 20 points, which would be extremely impressive at this stage of the season. We’ll need a top performance to do so, however. The game against Nürnberg showed that every game will be difficult for us if we give anything less than 100 per cent. I’m confident that we can produce a top physical performance over the course of the 90 minutes. Ante Rebic will feature on Sunday, provided he doesn’t pick up an injury. We’ll then decide whether to play with three, two, or maybe just the one striker.”
