The training camp:

The conditions were good and the boys got stuck in. We weren’t good for the first 60 minutes of the game against St. Gallen. The second 60 minutes were better, but the opposition didn’t have their best players on the pitch. We then worked on the things we saw, carried out video sessions and completed drills on the pitch. We have a few injuries. Lucas Höler has a broken metatarsal bone. Kofi Kyereh has a muscle strain and missed a few sessions, as well as Kimberley Ezekwem. We need to be patient there, as do the players. Kevin Schade is getting better slowly, which is a positive.

New players:

The players have welcomed the new signings straight away and helped them integrate. Kofi is a good player and brings that street football quality. He can still develop a lot in some areas. Matthias Ginter is a very focused player, he’s very aware and attentive; that’s how you should be. Michael Gregoritsch is an open guy and is very athletic. He has to be in order to help us up front both with and without the ball. Ritsu Doan has a great left foot, is mobile and has Bundesliga experience, which helps. All of the newcomers have to get to grips with things and their new teammates.

The centre of defence:

Keven Schlotterbeck has a great left foot. If he’s not available, we have to find solutions and if a right-footed player is playing on the left side, why can’t he play a diagonal ball too? If you practice enough, it can work and the players can build up their confidence in training. That’s in the case that Keven doesn’t play. He’s not had any international games this year and hasn’t been injured, so he’s able to get himself into top condition to be able to defend against the fastest players in the league.

Midfield:

Yannik Keitel was injured for a long period and Robert Wagner is young – he just turned 19 this week. It may well be the case that we begin with Maxi Eggestein and Chicco Höfler. But Philipp Leinhart also has experience playing in defensive midfield and Gintes can play there too. I don’t want to move a lot of things around and we don’t have a lot of games remaining in pre-season.

Attack:

We currently have three injuries to our forwards. Luci’s presence in attack is a massive help for us. He’s one of the attackers with the most duels entered in the Bundesliga and scored seven goals last season – he could have easily had ten – and also got four assists. Everyone else is capable of that too and we’re asking that of them. It’s good to have several options.

Midweek games in the upcoming season:

We have more games in short amounts of time. You might play three games and only one week has gone by. It's important to deal with the situation mentally. The players have a responsibility to themselves to stay in top condition and focus every day they come in. They have to manage this mental control and readiness.

The season opener:

Of course, it's different when you start with a cup game against a fourth-division team than against a team from the second division, but I think facing Kaiserslautern again is a good thing. The stadium will be full and we’ll be well aware of the task at hand. We’re also excited for the European games, but of course we need to fight. I’m critically optimistic.