Paderborn has been the number one relegation candidate since the start of the season. At the bottom of the table, much points to a direct return to the 2nd Bundesliga. Trainer Steffen Baumgart remains combative. He senses the next chance on Wednesday.
Paderborn (dpa) - Steffen Baumgart assessed the chances of staying in the class with a mixture of a lot of fighting spirit and a little serenity of the underdog.
"Bad tongues have said that it was never realistic and that's why we are happy that we are still there," said the SC Paderborn coach after the 1-1 draw against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, the eighth winless game in a row. "We will do everything for it and we will go full throttle. No matter who comes from and no matter where we come from," said Baumgart.
The 48-year-old is right. In fact, his team is still somehow involved in the fight for another year in the Bundesliga. With draws like in Düsseldorf and now against the Kraichgauer, the class will not succeed. Victories are needed - but with a view to the rest of the program, winning is not necessarily easier.
The SCP must compete against Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Mönchengladbach and RB Leipzig in the remaining seven games. This does not seem to cause annoyance at Baumgart. The coach much more emphasized the comeback qualities of his players after Robert Skov's early deficit and praised the team, which equalized through Dennis Srbeny five minutes after the 0: 1.
"I have a positive assessment of the performance and the result after the deficit," said Baumgart. "We would have liked to get more, but we also have to leave the church in the village. From day one it was clear what role we had." He does not assess the situation according to the place in the table, explained Baumgart. "For us, it's about playing very, very good football and developing ourselves further." He was encouraged "that the boys would go out and not think about the situation in the table."
Midfielder Klaus Gjasula also drew more confidence for the next games from the draw against the technically savvy and strong Hoffenheim team. He knew that the result would not necessarily advance the SCP and that it would be "very, very difficult" with remaining in the class, he said. In the spirit of his combative coach, he added: "We just have to believe in it, keep trying everything so that we can look in the mirror at the end of the day and know that we have done everything."
The Paderborn team already have their next opportunity to give everything at FC Augsburg on Wednesday. "We have a good opportunity to take one or two more points with us in Augsburg when we get to the limits," said Baumgart. Either way, he won't let the fighting spirit be taken away.
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