“We want to take care of it ourselves”

1. FSV Mainz 05 are just one step away from sensationally securing Bundesliga survival on the final day. This is a situation that no expert would have predicted them to be in just a few months ago, but 20 points from 12 games under Bo Henriksen have put the 05ers’ fate in their own hands, leaving them just needing to get a result at VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday afternoon (15:30 CEST). FSV can’t think the job is done though. With thousands of Mainz fans set to be in Wolfsburg, they will want to play to win in order to stave off any doubts.

M05’S HEAD COACH ALSO SPOKE ABOUT

The current situation

“We’ve put ourselves in a great position and aren’t afraid of anything. When I started in February, I approached the task with the hope but also the belief that we could do it. It was of course hard to believe three months ago though.”

Their approach in Wolfsburg

“We want to play with courage, power and energy and again show that we’re a team who are hard to beat.”

Whether they feel safe

“After the win over Dortmund, I told the team that we hadn’t achieved anything yet, but had put ourselves in a position to do something sensational. That would be amazing for this club, but we have to go out and impress one more time.”

The squad situation

“Everyone’s ready, apart from Maxim Leitsch of course. Stefan Bell has been back for a few weeks, which is good for the dressing room. Karim Onisiwo is also getting closer to coming back into the squad. It’s good to be able to train with 25 players, instead of 15 or 16 like at the start.”

Phillipp Mwene’s return from suspension

“He’s coming back. I love him. Silvan and Titi have also been playing well. Everyone deserves to play. The only thing that’s important now is what the team needs to do to win. Everyone will do their best. You’ll see the results of that on Saturday afternoon.”

Keeping an eye on the other games on the final day

“We can’t affect the results of the other games. We’re only playing our match. I’ve told everyone that I don’t want to hear about anything else. From day one, we’ve only been concentrating on picking up points, and that won’t be any different at the weekend. The challenge is the same. We want to take care of it ourselves and show everyone how we’ve put ourselves in this position together – that makes it ten times as good. The whole team would deserve a statue if we stay up.”

The role of the fans in the stands

“Our fans are unbelievable. We know how much they support us, both home and away. We’re obviously hoping there’ll be as many Mainz fans as possible on a day when we want to show how good we are and finally win another away game.”

Thinking about holidays

“We’re only thinking about one thing right now: staying in the division. We’re all looking forward to a holiday, but only if we stay up. I also want to immediately start working again the next day though. At the moment, we’re only thinking about the next game. After Saturday, maybe we can all start thinking about other things.”