Helm ahead of the storm: “We want to give it our all!”

To kick off the championship group stage, the Veilchen welcome champions and league leaders SK Sturm Graz to the Generali Arena. With just a few days of ticket sales under their belt, 12,400 tickets have already been sold for Sunday’s match (5.00 pm). At today’s press conference, head coach Stephan Helm and captain Mandi Fischer answered questions from the media.

Head coach Stephan Helm on ...

... the upcoming season finale:
“The fact that we’ve qualified for the championship group so convincingly: hats off to the team! For a while, we were playing catch-up with the points we’d dropped at the start of the season. But from the autumn onwards, the trend has clearly been upwards. The team wanted to round off this 22nd matchday in Ried with a win. Looking at the statistics, other teams are probably more favoured than us, but we want to make the most of the last ten rounds.”

... opponents Sturm Graz:
“Coach Fabio Ingolitsch has clearly instilled his ideas into the team. This isn’t just evident in the formation, even though he himself is very flexible in his thinking. I expect them to play much as they have recently.”

Mandi Fischer on …

… team spirit:
“No one lets the others down. No one lets up. Every player understands their role and knows exactly what they have to do. Whether we’re first-team regulars or coming off the bench: we know what’s required. That’s what sets us apart.”

… favourite opponents SK Sturm?
“Our victories against Sturm are – as always – in the past. But we’re always delighted to play against Sturm. It’s a top Austrian fixture where we have to give it our all. We deserved to win the last few games against them. They’re a very physically strong team; we have to push ourselves to the absolute limit. There’s no clear favourite in this match. But with our fans behind us, anything is possible.”

… on the change in playing style compared to last year:
“Last year we had a two-man partnership up front with Maurice Malone and Nik Prelec, and behind them Fitzi, who could decide a match with a single pass. This year we’re playing differently. No matter who plays – me, Abu, Sanel, Vaso – we always give it our all. Our hunger is immense, and the team’s character is huge. We’ll give 100 per cent in the upcoming matches and do our very best. Of course, we take it week by week, looking at each task individually.”

Team news

Sanel Šaljić remains a doubt following his injury. Tae-Seok Lee is serving a one-match suspension against Sturm.