Henriksen: “The pressure for results stems from our desire for success”

Fans of the 05ers may get a sense of déjà-vu when their side travels to face Borussia Mönchengladbach this weekend, since it will be the second league meeting between the sides this season to take place on a Friday night (kick-off 20:30 CET). Mainz will head into the clash with confidence based on their positive track record against the Foals, unbeaten in eight matches (W5, D3) stretching back to October 2020. They do not possess a longer such run against any other Bundesliga side.

The reverse fixture produced a share of the spoils when an own goal from the Foals to put the hosts ahead (55’) was almost immediately cancelled out by Tim Kleindienst’s equaliser (57’) and 1-1 was how it stayed. Borussia are something of a surprise package, winning convincingly away to Heidenheim most recently after being beaten heavily by Augsburg in the game prior. Meanwhile, Mainz demonstrated some consistency in dispatching of both RB Leipzig and St. Pauli in their previous two fixtures. That has seen the 05ers climb to fourth in the standings, while Gladbach occupy spot number eight.

Head coach Bo Henriksen spoke in his press conference about...

...team news for Friday: “Everyone will be available to face Mönchengladbach apart from Stefan Bell. Therefore, I am hoping we can produce a strong performance.”

...recent good form: “The most important thing is obviously that we believe in ourselves and that mood in camp is a positive one. We didn’t play especially well against St. Pauli but the showing we gave in Leipzig was much more pleasing. Even though we know we can beat anyone, we have also seen this season that we can be beaten by anyone if we don’t give it our all.”

...the returning Dominik Kohr: “We have so many quality players in this position. Andreas Hanche-Olsen played unbelievably well in Leipzig and then Maxim Leitsch provides a further option. In football, there are always going to be disappointed players and that makes the job of the coach rather tricky, even if it’s a nice problem to have.”

...the win away to Leipzig:  “With 15 to 20 minutes gone, I wasn’t feeling especially confident that we would come away with the three points. However, the end of the first half was much more positive and I said to the lads during the break that I backed us to win the game if we could grab an equaliser because that would just give us the impetus we needed. We were much more assured in possession in the second period. We played well and created many more chances than we did during the first 45 minutes.”

...the reverse fixture with Gladbach: “We played well in the first half of the previous match against Mönchengladbach but it was more evenly contested after the restart. I believe we were the better team that day and our performances In the Bundesliga gradually increased after that point, which has also been the case for Gladbach. They are a good side who play out from the back to great effect and that makes it hard to press them high. Borussia look to play a good style of football and they score a number of goals so it is bound to be a tricky game against a tough opponent.”

...dreams of European qualification: “Last season was just as full on as this, albeit for a different reason. The pressure for results stems from our desire for success and to win football matches. If we give it everything we have then we can achieve anything and it will ultimately be more fun that way as well. There is a stark contrast between the emotions behind playing with the aim of achieving something great and those when you are looking to avoid something negative. I don’t have to try and invigorate my team so much this way around since everyone is full of energy and looking forward to the next game.”

...the Rosenmontag parade: “It was a really special day for the whole team. The weather was simply superb and with so many people there it was a real celebration. I hadn’t experienced anything like that before so it was really cool. We were all feeling really great going into the parade off the back of some positive results of late and we want to carry that positivity forward with us for the upcoming tasks. Our aim is to continue on our good path and give it 100% against Gladbach tomorrow.”