Hertha in the relegation battle
Even without the supposed savior, Hertha BSC is approaching the first stage of the Magath mission in the fight to stay up in the Bundesliga with new hopes. “I’m ready and I’m convinced that our boys know what they have to do at the weekend,” said assistant coach Mark Fotheringham, who will stand in for head coach Felix Magath, who is suffering from Corona, on Saturday in the home game against TSG Hoffenheim (15 :30 p.m.).
The Scot was still without a job a week ago, then Magath made him assistant coach. Now he occupies the chief post himself. It is doubtful that the Hertha pros can take it easy under the 38-year-old than under Magath, who is 30 years his senior and is known as “Schleifer”. While Fotheringham doesn’t want to copy anyone, his work ethic is similar to the veteran coach.
From Favre to Magath: The 17 Hertha coaches since 2007
“I was smart and documented and archived all training sessions during our time together in Fulham,” said Fotheringham. In 2014 he trained as a player under Magath at FC Fulham and gained experience that he is now passing on to the Hertha professionals. “I’m a simple guy from a working-class family and I’ve experienced a lot with German coaches,” said Fotheringham. In the 2005/06 season he played under Volker Finke at SC Freiburg, until the end of the previous season he was assistant coach at FC Ingolstadt.
Personnel issues or game systems are of secondary importance for the ex-professional trained at Celtic Glasgow. “It’s important that we put this performance on the pitch and get three points,” said Fotheringham. He certifies the team’s good training performance. Fotheringham is not interested in the fact that predecessor Tayfun Korkut had this impression week after week. “I’m focused on playing better,” he said.
According to Sport Managing Director Fredi Bobic, the players also felt the changes in training due to the new move. “The lads saw that we needed more emotionality and conveyed that on the pitch. That will be important to take our fans with us. It has to be a completely different body language,” said the 50-year-old, just to calm down: “Everyone survived. They must have thought they wouldn’t survive. It looked very focused. The guys pulled along very well.”
Hertha BSC: Positive corona test at Magath for Bobic like a bad joke
The positive corona test by head coach Magath on Thursday, which Bobic initially thought was a joke (“But he was serious”), is another hurdle in the Berliners’ season, which is so full of impasses. Magath is the third trainer this season at Hertha. For the time being, he is in digital contact with the team and the coaching staff.
Sorted by transfer fee: Under or from players signed by Felix Magath
Bobic is now hoping for a defiant reaction against Hoffenheim. However, TSG has only lost one of the last twelve Bundesliga duels against Hertha – with eight wins and three draws. None of this is an excuse for Bobic: “These are resistances that you have to break through. It will be our goal: Now more than ever.”
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