Playing for pride: HSV's plan for the run-in! | OneFootball

TW Survival is in the bag, so the really big pressure is off accordingly. But at HSV, nobody wants to switch into administrative mode in the final stretch of the season.

Even though there is no longer much at stake in sporting terms, coach Merlin Polzin made a clear statement ahead of the two remaining Bundesliga matches.

“We’re not giving anything away at all,” the HSV coach emphasized at the press conference before the final home game of the season against SC Freiburg (Sunday, 3:30 p.m.). The promoted side may have already achieved the big goal of staying up, but that is supposed to release extra energy rather than take away the tension.

Since the 2-1 win at Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend and the other results going their way, HSV are now officially no longer in danger of relegation. Because FC St. Pauli lost 2-1 to Mainz and Wolfsburg only managed a draw at SC Freiburg, the Hamburg side were ultimately able to celebrate staying in the league from their own couch. Around 40 members of the coaching team and staff watched the matches together at a barbecue hosted by goalkeeping coach Sven Höh.

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HSV are eager to “put on a great game”

Polzin does not believe, however, that his team will now slip into “nothing-left-to-play-for mode.” On the contrary: the 35-year-old said that “the pressure” has dropped, “but that actually makes you even more eager to put on a great game.”

Nur die Raute – All the news about HSV

That is why the coach is continuing to rely on intensity. “We have the highest standards for ourselves, and whenever we wear our shirt, we want to put in a good performance,” Polzin explained. So the fans should once again get to see passionate football in the season finale.

Polzin did not hide the fact that the relief after securing survival was huge. After the decisive results came in, “the music got a little louder.” In addition, there was “one or two songs from the coaching staff about us belonging in this league.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.