The English week can again give a "deflection" in the table. This is how Nuremberg coach Weinzierl puts it. He hopes his director gets back in shape.
Nuremberg (dpa / lby) - Markus Weinzierl would of course find it helpful to see his director Mats Möller Daehli improve his performance in the end-of-year sprint of the 2nd Bundesliga. "Mats is a great footballer, he is our technically best player," said the 1. FC Nürnberg coach before the start of the English week with the home game against promoted 1. FC Magdeburg on Sunday (1.30 p.m. / Sky). "We need him. But he's also a very sensitive guy who thinks a lot in a phase like this."
The Norwegian midfielder is in a low form. The long-distance runner rarely gets into promising positions himself, and he also doesn't use his teammates as effectively as he is used to. "He's not in his best form this season, he says so himself and is working on it. He works hard in training and I see him very committed," Weinzierl continued on Friday about his number ten.
Möller Daehli currently only has two assists in this second division season. He hasn't scored a goal yet. Last season, the nimble playmaker had three goals and six assists after 33 games. "We need him," emphasized Weinzierl. "He's an important factor to make the whole team look better with his level of play."
Weinzierl wants to strengthen Möller Daehli. He doesn't have a player with his qualities in the squad anyway. "Trust, encouragement and support are the right approach for me," the "Club" coach described his approach. "He has so much quality that he will give us a lot of pleasure in the future." Of course, Möller Daehli also "depends on how the whole team works."
That was last strong, at least on the defensive. The "Club" has been unbeaten in four games and even kept a clean sheet. Most recently, however, the Franconians did not score their own goal twice. "It's clear that we have to play better offensively," admitted Weinzierl. "But it's important that you also score points with a bad performance."
Scoring should continue in the year-end sprint. "It's an incredibly important week. Three games in one week make a difference in the table," said Weinzierl before the start of the English week against Magdeburg.
Nuremberg then play at Hansa Rostock on Wednesday and then welcome SC Paderborn on Sunday. After the interruption for the World Cup in Qatar, the 2nd league will not resume until the end of January.
