Adler: No, no one knew anything. Not during the game either. We only focused on ourselves. I had no idea what the case was after the final whistle. I think we learned from our mistake in the Stuttgart game. We worried too much about other results and at the end of the day there is absolutely nothing you can do to affect the other games. You have to take care of your own task first. Today, we did our job and then looked at what the others did. It's great that we managed to claim the relegation play-off spot. We have our fate in our own hands again. We now have some momentum going into this play-off and our opponents will be aware of that too.
Question: HSV also had to survive a play-off last season, but you lost the last five league games before it then. This year you secured the play-off spot with a victory. Are the circumstances different?
Adler: Completely different. We really lacked confidence last season after those defeats. Things are going quite well for us at the moment and we have great momentum. We won an extremely difficult game today, facing lots of pressure. I don't think that the play-off will provide much more pressure than that.
Question: Will you be watching the 2. Bundesliga final matchday on Sunday, when it will be determined which team you face in the play-off?
Adler: I won't be watching it. I will find out which team we will play at some point anyway. We have been away at a training camp in Malente for the last few days, so I will be spending Sunday with my girlfriend.
A 2-0 victory over Schalke 04 on the final matchday earned Hamburger SV a 16th-place finish and thus another chance in the relegation play-off. Keeper René Adler answered questions from the media following HSV’s late escape from direct relegation and DFB.de listened to what he had to say in the mixed zone.
Question: Mr. Adler, how huge is the relief after at least securing the relegation play-off spot?
René Adler: I need some time to calm down right after a game like that, so I'm not overwhelmed by joy at the moment. But it's certainly a good thing that we managed to finish in 16th. We attempted to play as if it was just a normal Bundesliga game and wanted to win. We can take a lot of confidence from the past. We know that we can perform when we have to, especially at home.
Question: What was the key to your victory today?
Adler: We were compact, organised, everyone worked hard for one another and we stayed composed. We remained very calm at half time as well. We knew that we would get our chance and when it came we made the most of it.
Question: Shortly before the final whistle, Schalke's Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting forced you into a quality save, which stopped Schalke from reducing your lead to just one goal.
Adler: Fortunately the ball didn’t go in. A 2-1 scoreline would have been quite uncomfortable for us. Things can get hectic very quickly. But I was always confident that we would win the game and keep a clean sheet today.
Question: Hamburg needed the results in the other games to go their way in order to claim the relegation play-off spot. VfB Stuttgart won in Paderborn and if Hannover 96 and SC Freiburg had drawn their game, Hamburg would have been relegated despite your victory. The scores in the other games were not announced in the stadium. Be honest, did you check the scores at half time?
Adler: No, no one knew anything. Not during the game either. We only focused on ourselves. I had no idea what the case was after the final whistle. I think we learned from our mistake in the Stuttgart game. We worried too much about other results and at the end of the day there is absolutely nothing you can do to affect the other games. You have to take care of your own task first. Today, we did our job and then looked at what the others did. It's great that we managed to claim the relegation play-off spot. We have our fate in our own hands again. We now have some momentum going into this play-off and our opponents will be aware of that too.
Question: HSV also had to survive a play-off last season, but you lost the last five league games before it then. This year you secured the play-off spot with a victory. Are the circumstances different?
Adler: Completely different. We really lacked confidence last season after those defeats. Things are going quite well for us at the moment and we have great momentum. We won an extremely difficult game today, facing lots of pressure. I don't think that the play-off will provide much more pressure than that.
Question: Will you be watching the 2. Bundesliga final matchday on Sunday, when it will be determined which team you face in the play-off?
Adler: I won't be watching it. I will find out which team we will play at some point anyway. We have been away at a training camp in Malente for the last few days, so I will be spending Sunday with my girlfriend.
