Schubert: 'My life hasn’t changed'

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bundesliga.com: Andre Schubert, it's been quite a few months since you've taken over as Gladbach coach. How has your life changed?

Schubert: My life hasn't changed all that much. I worked for Borussia Mönchengladbach before. The work has obviously changed insofar as that I find myself on a different, a higher level. The backroom staff is bigger than with the Under-23s, and in the Bundesliga and the Champions League, you meet opponents of a very different quality. And of course the job brings with it a different scale of publicity.

bundesliga.com: In the space of a few weeks, you have seen yourself transformed from 'normal' football coach to 'Interim Coach of the Century' and, after beating FC Bayern München, 'Pep's Kryptonite'. Did this worry you at all?

Schubert: Why should I be worried? I worked for FC St. Pauli in Hamburg, where you have relatively big media coverage, perhaps even bigger than in Mönchengladbach. When you're a Bundesliga coach, you know what to expect. I do my job and focus on the football, even if I now do more interviews.

bundesliga.com: In your 11th game in charge, Gladbach’s attacking spark eluded you in the 5-0 defeat at Leverkusen. Why was that?

Schubert: We played into their hands and didn't do much right. We were on a great run but you could see that we were gradually losing energy. Now we have to pick ourselves up again.

bundesliga.com: You’ve made Granit Xhaka your captain and he looks to have taken another step forward…

Schubert: Granit wears the captain's armband with pride. It's fantastic that someone comes to Germany from abroad and identifies so strongly with his new club and its image.

bundesliga.com: Will you now use the winter break to analyse all the games you’ve played so far?

Schubert: I certainly won't be doing that. I’ve learned from past experience that I have to completely switch off. It's not good to mull things over 24/7. When I have a day off, it stays that way. It used to be that I didn’t take that type of down time for myself. Now, things are a bit calmer and I can go and drink a coffee with friends or read a book at home. Then it's easy to be fully motivated to go to work again the next day and - if necessary - work 15 or 16 hours. I'll use the Christmas holidays to get myself in better shape - it's certainly needed!

Interview by Andreas Kötter