The Veilchen will welcome SCR Altach to the Generali-Arena on Sunday (5:00 pm). Around 12,500 tickets for the clash between eleventh and third place had been sold by Friday afternoon. In today's press conference, coach Stephan Helm and striker Jojo Eggestein spoke about the recent turbulent weeks and appealed to the overall team spirit of the Violets.

 Coach Stephan Helm on ...

... opponents Altach:
"They have a very bold playing idea, are offensively orientated. We've watched them well and are prepared. I expect a more open game than last time. We want to put in an energetic performance on the pitch and finally reward ourselves with positive results."  

... the turbulent last few weeks:
"We've also been able to go about our work calmly this week, had our meetings where we evaluated what's okay and what's not. We're staying focussed and preparing for our opponents. Right now, we have to stick together and stand up for each other. That applies to the club, the employees and the fans. If we can do that, we can steer the ship in the right direction again."

... the (too?) high expectations:
"That's a big point. We worked hard last season, but now we've had to accept a bitter setback. We still have confidence in ourselves and the players. When you see the team in training, you can tell that they want to get out of their slump. We want to turn the tide."  

... the right signals to the team:
"We have an open and critical way of dealing with each other. As a coaching team, we have a clear plan to make life a little easier for the team again. That's all I've been thinking about this week. We want to give the team clarity on the way. The players need the support of all of us. If we can do that, a lot is still possible."

... the low as a question of character:
"When you win ten times in a row, everyone is happy. But we didn't take off back then. Now we're in the exact opposite situation, now the personality and character of each individual is showing. If we can get out of this slump together, we'll emerge even stronger."

Johannes Eggestein on ...

... internal communication:
"We've recently focussed on compactness in training, want to keep the gaps tighter and make life difficult for Altach. The atmosphere was tense, but positive. In my experience, it helps to come together in difficult phases, to have discussions and to meet up off the pitch. We have a lot of new players to integrate. Our attitude must be not to drift apart, but to move closer together. We want to engage with each other even more. Then the mutual support will become even greater. We can only get out of this together!"

... his integration into the team:
"When you're new, it's never that easy to find direct access to everyone straight away. When you're new in the dressing room, you're not the loudest. It's a natural integration process. Positive results would of course speed up this process. Our focus is always on the team, not on individuals. We want to win the treble on Sunday, whether I score or not, it doesn't matter." 

Personnel news

Aleksander Dragović was back in full training during the week and could be an option for the starting XI against Altach. Tin Plavotic is injured and will be available on Sunday.