Before our Red Bulls take to the pitch on Thursday evening at 21:00 CEST, to compete for crucial points against Slovenian champions NK Celje in the UEFA Europa League league phase, head coach Danny Röhl and Leandro Morgalla fielded questions from journalists at the Z’dezele Stadium. Here are the key takeaways from the press conference.

Danny Röhl on …

… the situation ahead of the match:

Since changing their coach in September, Celje have improved in several areas. They look to play football, are well-organised, and will certainly make life difficult for us tomorrow. Our goal is to deliver a strong performance and, above all, secure all three points - but we are fully aware that nothing comes easily in the Europa League.

Danny Röhl

… the current situation in the squad:

Karim Konate is back with the team. Unfortunately, Edmund Baidoo had to cut his training session short this morning and did not make the trip.

Danny Röhl

… the right-back situation:

It was clear to us early in the season that Leo was performing well and had emerged as the primary alternative to Niki. He has earned playing time in recent matches, improving with every performance and giving his all. Starting against Milan was a tough challenge, but he showed further progress against Altach. I am fully confident that he will take another step forward tomorrow. We also have Stevie Lainer, who provides backup and has embraced this role well. It was important to me to have an open, early conversation with him. Our main priority was for Leo to find his rhythm through consistent playing time. Since we have a match every three days, there will certainly be opportunities for Stevie to get minutes as well

Danny Röhl

… the opponents' strength:

Celje use varying pressing strategies at different stages of the match and try to congest the centre. They are flexible in their build-up play, with frequent positional rotations in midfield. Up front, they have a huge target, and on the right wing, a pacy player who looks to take on opponents in one-on-one situations. We can't look into transfer values or anything of that nature. Every team in the Europa League has earned the right to be here.

Danny Röhl

Leandro Morgalla on …

… his expectations for tomorrow's match:

First and foremost, we are here to take home all three points - that is clearly our goal. To achieve that, we need a top-tier performance tomorrow. We have to push ourselves to the absolute limit and impose our style of play on the opponents. If we do that, I’m confident we’ll take the three points back to Salzburg

Leandro Morgalla

… his recent performances:

Naturally, it’s always better to play than not to play. It wasn’t easy for me to get into the swing of things initially, as I lacked a bit of rhythm at the start. I was self-critical enough to realise that the match against Milan wasn’t my best, but against Altach, there was a clear improvement. Getting more playing time is beneficial for me. I know I have to prove myself whenever I’m given minutes on the pitch. I have that opportunity right now, and I want to deliver a strong performance in every game

Leandro Morgalla

… his personal role and development in recent weeks:

I feel very comfortable on the pitch and appreciate every minute of playing time I receive. Whether playing as a right-back or as a central defender, I always just try to help the team with my energy, win my duels, and do my part to ensure we keep a clean sheet at the back.

Leandro Morgalla

You can follow the action live from home this Thursday evening - completely free of charge - via ServusTV or ServusTV On in Austria.

Press conference before Celje clash: "We can't look at transfer values at all"