It has been a tough week for Werder Bremen fans after losing the northern Germany derby 2-0 and then finding out that top scorer Franco di Santo will be out for the rest of the year. On Saturday they face a tough home fixture against everyone's favourite surprise package Paderborn, as they hope to claw themselves out of the relegation zone.
"We're delighted with the faith that has been shown in us, we want to develop the team further"
- Viktor Skripnik
There has been some good news for Bremen fans of late, however, with Viktor Skripnik and his assistant Torsten Frings signing new contracts until 2017 as they seek to push the club forward, and immediately out of the bottom three: "We're delighted with the faith that has been shown in us,'' said Skripnik. "We have an incredibly strong bond with this club and we will do everything we can to get back on a winning path. We want to get out of the relegation battle as soon as we can and develop the team further.'' First, they must get past Paderborn, a team that Skripnik admits have caused him some headaches: "Paderborn's team is very settled and they have a very strong team spirit,'' said the 45-year-old. "We're going to have to find a good balance between attacking and defending.''
Sadly for Bremen fans, their side still sit bottom of the Bundesliga table with just 10 points from their 12 games, but there has been a marked improvement in recent weeks, with Skripnik winning three of his four games in charge - in all competitions - since becoming the head coach. After a disappointing 2-0 loss to Hamburger last weekend, Bremen fans will be hoping they can get back to winning ways as they start to move in the right direction and up the Bundesliga table.
"What we have achieved so far is extraordinary"
- Andre Breitenreiter
Paderborn, feeling the benefit of having done better than all the critics expected so far this season, are not under a lot of pressure to get a result out of this Saturday's game - so says manager Andre Breitenreiter: "We want to win the game, for sure, but it is Bremen who really have to win the game as they are at home,'' he said. He also paid tribute to his players and their successes since being promoted to the Bundesliga: "What we've achieved so far is already extraordinary.''
It is Breitenreiter's default response, but as his side continue to impress, the balance is starting to swing. Some would argue that Paderborn are even favourites for the game on Saturday, after collecting 16 points in 12 games this campaign. Breitenreiter's players will be full of confidence too, after last weekend's incredible 2-2 draw with Jurgen Klopp's Borussia Dortmund. Surely we must start to ask ourselves: at what point does coming through in a game where you're not expected to win, start to put a bit of expectation on your own shoulders?