When Rot-Weiss Essen travel to FC Ingolstadt on Saturday (26 November, 2pm), Christoph Dabrowski will be warning his defense about Jannik Mause.
14 games, nine goals, three assists: It’s hard to imagine where FC Ingolstadt would be without these great statistics, which belong to Jannik Mause. Certainly not just six points behind their next opponents Rot-Weiss Essen.
But with the 25-year-old striker in the team, coach Michael Köllner’s side can still realistically dream of promotion to the second division.
Against Rot-Weiss Essen, the “Schanzers” want to go one better and close the gap to the top. Of course, Mause is once again the hopeful figure in this endeavor.
Forecasting spoke to the former Alemannia Aachen attacker, who was involved in 30 goals (22 goals, eight assists) in 56 games for Alemannia in two years.
Jannik Mause, 14 games and 12 goals: Hand on heart: would you have thought before the season that you would settle in so quickly and well at Ingolstadt?
I personally expected that I would quickly settle into the club, its environment and the region. Of course, the team, the coaching team and the staff played a big part in this. They all made it easy for me to acclimatize. As a result, my sporting and personal start at the Schanz has been more than successful
When you play in the Regionalliga West, as a player you automatically look at what Rot-Weiss Essen are doing. Nevertheless, I was still surprised.
Jannik Mause
What made settling in so easy?
It was particularly easy because we had two intensive training camps in the summer. This allowed us to get to know each other even better – including at the team evening. This allowed the team to grow together and find each other. In the end, the new additions benefited from the major upheaval, as all of the ‘newcomers’ were keen to make friends quickly, which made the initial period more enjoyable.
At the same time, the team is not playing the way it set out to before the season…
Before the season, we set out to find our feet quickly and then pick up as many points as possible. We’ve experienced ups and downs over the past few months, not least due to the major upheaval in the summer, which is completely normal with 12 new signings. In general, however, we need to become more consistent.
How do you assess the FCI situation and the league table ahead of the Essen game?
We are currently six points clear of third place in the table. We want to reduce this gap to three points at best at the weekend.
Rot-Weiss Essen come to FC Ingolstadt in third place in the table. How much have you been surprised by Essen?
When you play in the Regionalliga West, as a player you automatically look at what Rot-Weiss Essen are doing. Nevertheless, I was still surprised.
According to our information, you almost ended up in Essen. There is said to have been contact – is that true?
I’ve been a player for FC Ingolstadt 04 since the summer and couldn’t be happier. I’ve never commented on stories speculated in the media and I won’t do so now.
Where do you see Essen’s strengths?
I think every team in the 3rd division has its individual strengths, just like Essen, who will also try to bring them to the pitch against us. At this point, we need to work as a team to prevent their strengths from coming to the fore.
How many goals has Jannik Mause actually set himself – 20 plus X?
I didn’t expect to score that many at the start of the season. My goal was and still is to play as many games as possible and help my team with very good performances – which automatically includes assists and goals. But as an attacking player, you also need a little bit of luck at times.
Why will FC Ingolstadt be ahead of Rot-Weiss Essen at the end of the season and will the FCI also be promoted?
Talking about such final table constellations at the end of the first half of the season is, in my opinion, premature and therefore misplaced. After all, anyone can beat anyone in this league – we’ve already seen that several times this season. We can talk about this again after the 38th matchday