Blessin: “Great to touch the ball and the grass again”
Saturday, 05. July 2025, 09:00 Uhr
The Boys in Brown were not alone in wanting to get started with the first training session of the new season. Head coach Alexander Blessin was just as keen, and after the 90-minute workout he took time out to talk to the media about it.
Alexander Blessin on…
...the first training session after a long summer break: “I needed a bit of time to wind down after last season, but after two or three weeks I started to get excited again and look forward to seeing the lads again. It’s great to touch the ball and the grass again.”
...his first impression of the new signings: “There’s a lot of dynamism in the way they knocked the ball about. We’ve added some pace, which will do us good. We’ve made some good signings. I’m impressed and happy.”
...additional signings: “We’re already well placed and on the right track, but we still have a bit to do and I’m in constant contact with Andreas [Bornemann]. Karol Mets is making good progress and we’ll be well placed at the back when he returns. The loss of Philipp Treu has left a gap we aim to fill. We’re well placed in midfield and James Sands is like a new player for me. We want to do something in attack as well.”
...captain Jackson Irvine: “It’s looking good, but he needs a bit more time. We want to see him back on the pitch as soon as possible. We’ll have him checked on Friday and then we’ll know to what extent we can increase his workload.”
...Manolis Saliakas, who trained on his own: “He’s got a problem with his pubis. We have to make sure we ease him back in and so we’ll see how long we need to leave him out.”
...the departure of Elias Saad: “You saw his quality last season and in the one before that. He added zip to our play but was unlucky with the injury. He said he wanted to take the next step and chose to go to Augsburg. We have to accept it. There’s no point crying about losing a player. I’m focusing on the players we have and who want to go flat out for the club.”
...the criticism expressed by Oladapo Afolayan after the final game of the season: “Dapo didn’t do himself any favours with that. He called me afterwards to apologise. Every player deserves a second chance. You can always make a mistake, and he accepts it. It’s now up to him to send a signal on the pitch.”
...the “tough second year” in the Bundesliga: “Every season is tough and has to be viewed in its own right. You can’t say one’s harder than any other. This year sees the return of two big clubs in HSV and Köln who are in another league financially. We managed last season, and I’m convinced we’ll manage just the same this season.“
...his preferred system: “It’s not about any one formation for me; we want to be flexible. We want to cause teams problems with our movement. We’ll see how often we operate in a 5-3-2 or a 3-4-3. We’ll try things out and then see what’s best for our game and the principles we want to bring to the pitch. It’s not about the system first and foremost, it’s about the way we want to play. We want to have more variety in transition. We weren’t able to make the best of the situations when we won possession because we lacked pace. That’s a point where there’s room for improvement.“
...the early derby at HSV: “We’re really looking forward to it already. It’s a great thing for Hamburg. We have a long pre-season and so the sense of anticipation will gradually increase. We have some important weeks and games ahead of us but we’ll think about Dortmund and how we can beat them first.“
Photos: Witters
