With nine matchdays remaining in the season, FC Erzgebirge Aue trails the safety zone by nine points. Christoph Dabrowski isn’t giving up yet.

Christoph Dabrowski has been in charge at FC Erzgebirge Aue for seven matches. However, the coaching change has not paid off for the Veilchen so far.

Two opening draws against 1. FC Saarbrücken (0-0) and Viktoria Köln (2-2) were followed by five straight losses. At the time of Jens Härtel’s departure, Aue was just one point behind a non-relegation spot; now the gap has widened to nine points.

But former pro Dabrowski (273 first-division and 103 second-division games), who made his 100th appearance as a third-division coach last weekend in a 2-4 loss to his former club Rot-Weiss Essen, remains determined.

Ahead of Saturday’s match at SV Waldhof Mannheim, Dabrowski spoke about …

… the situation: “It’s a situation I’ve rarely, if ever, experienced before. I have to admit that quite honestly. Of course, I had hoped for much more. It’s a recurring pattern of individual mistakes. We make a lot of individual mistakes—and it’s always different players. I ask myself: What happens if we manage to win a game? Maybe then the relaxed atmosphere will return. I hope the guys answer that question positively this weekend.”
… the chance of avoiding relegation: “I will never lose confidence and will always keep the faith—even in a situation that seems as difficult as this. Maybe there will come a point where my players think I’m crazy because I’m still positive. But that won’t change. It’s no secret that there are fewer games left. Nor is it a secret that the task ahead is a huge challenge. But as far as I can tell, we haven’t been relegated yet—and we have a chance to pick up three points on Saturday.”