Werder Bremen vs Hannover 96 preview - Korkut hopes Hannover halt poor run

Posted Friday, December 12, 2014 by PA

Hannover coach Tayfun Korkut wants his side to dispel a looming crisis with a win at Werder Bremen this weekend, saying the "time has come to pick up three points again".

The Reds have lost their last three games to slip out of the top five and down to ninth in the table.

They have now reached a crossroads in their season with just four points distancing them from the top four, and six separating them from the bottom three.

"We're not talking about a crisis yet, but we've got to turn things around," Korkut said at a press conference.

"We've just got to work on minor details. The three defeats were unnecessary, but we've got to face up to the criticism.

"The time has come to pick up three points again."

Korkut has tried to reduce the pressure on his side by pointing out that they have six points more than their hosts.

"For Werder, it's all about not losing touch," he added. "The pressure is a lot greater for Bremen than it is for us."

Bremen coach Viktor Skripnik says there is only one remedy for that pressure, and that is to win this northern Germany derby.

"We've got to get the three points no matter how," he said. "We need as many points as we can get up to the winter break."

That is a big ask for a side filled with numerous young players such as Davie Selke, Janek Sternberg and Levent Aycicek.

"We can't expect these players to lead us up the league and into the Champions League now," Skripnik said.

"We need to take things step by step and hope that they benefit from the games and develop further, but we need points and to get those, you need players with match experience."