round 3 - match preview

Schalke happy to take on role of favourites in Jena

Schalke's approach going into the Round of 16 cup clash at third-division side Carl Zeiss Jena is clear. "We want to win and go through to the next round", Fred Rutten told journalists ahead of Tuesday's game.

The Schalke boss said he and his team were targeting the DFB Cup final in Berlin. "Which is why we have to leave no one in any doubt as to our will to win from the opening whistle. We can't afford to underestimate our opponents even if they do play two divisions below us", the 46-year-old continued. "Jena mustn't get the feeling at any time that they can beat us. We're the favourites and we aim to show we are."

The fact that the Royal Blues won just one of their four warm-up matches during the winter break is of no concern to the Dutchman. "There's a big difference between warm-up games and league matches. In my experience the results of warm-up matches are not necessarily an indicator of what will happen in the competitive games that follow", he said.

Rutten has done his homework on Jena, who currently sit in tenth place in the third division. "I've watched a number of their games on DVD. What caught my eye is that they have different styles of play. Sometimes they defend as a compact unit, other times they like to get the ball forward quickly. One thing that was always apparent, however, is that they are well organised and good on the break. But we're prepared for every eventuality."

The Schalke boss also knows a lot about Carl Zeiss Jena as a club, having worked with Hans Meyer for a long time at FC Twente. The current Borussia Mönchengladbach coach was in charge at Jena from 1971 to 1983 and 1993 to 1994. "So it's only logical that Hans and I used to talk a lot about Jena", he explained.

Rutten had good news to report on the injury front. Levan Kobiashvili, Orlando Engelaar and Kevin Kuranyi are all fit again and will make the trip to Jena. Christian Pander (knee) and Levan Kenia (thigh) are still sidelined, however, although Pander is well on the way to recovery. "He's making progress every day", the Dutchman said.