On the third day of the training camp in Marbella, Salih Özcan spoke to the journalists in attendance about the training programme so far and the upcoming friendly against Alkmaar.

Salih Özcan on the first sessions:
"The conditions are very good. The weather is behaving. It's demanding, that's part and parcel of it. We've worked a lot on tactics in particular. We're ready and looking forward to the game tomorrow."

…the training programme:
"Due to the short break, we're doing less on the physical front. At the moment, we're doing a lot of tactical training and working on trying to build the play in a tidy manner. That was on the agenda yesterday in particular."

…the comparison to last year:
"The training programme is similar. In Sven Bender and Nuri Sahin, we have two new assistant coaches who also contribute a lot in terms of content, tactics and on a footballing level. That does us good. We're looking forward to getting started again. Everyone is raring to go, and we have something to make amends for in the second half of the season."

…his fluctuating playing time in the first half-season:
"You have to be on point, especially when you've been getting less playing time. I believe that I've made good use of my playing time and showcased myself well. In the end it's the coach's decision." 

…the two new assistants Nuri Sahin and Sven Bender:
"They're both very relaxed off the pitch and try to hold talks with everyone in order to get a feeling for the team. On the pitch, they are loud and try to bring content into the training session. That does us good as a team."

…the first friendly against Alkmaar on Saturday:
"The focus is on winning the match and implementing the tactical contents that we've gone over in the course of the last few days well. We want to try to build up self-belief once again and bring an air of confidence into our play."
Transcribed by Christina Reinke