Wimmer focused on Wycombe after Barcelona trip

Kevin Wimmer believes the players are in great shape both physically and mentally to take on Wycombe Wanderers after this week’s training camp in Barcelona.

The squad jetted off to Spain after last weekend’s 2-2 draw at Manchester City, where they spent some quality time together around their training sessions at Barcelona’s famous Olympic Stadium – a venue that’s familiar to Mauricio Pochettino and goalkeeping coach Toni Jimenez, whose former club Espanyol used to be based there.

We return to action on Saturday against League Two side Wycombe Wanderers in the fourth round of the FA Cup, having never before played the Chairboys in a competitive fixture.

Central defender Kevin, ever-present for us in the domestic cup competitions this season, says the players are feeling fresh after their European excursion and are determined to maintain concentration in order to avoid an upset.

“We’ve prepared very well in Barcelona this week on our training camp,” he said. “As a group we’re feeling confident and now everybody is focused on trying to get through to the next round.

“We’d love to go all the way in the FA Cup because, of course, it would be very special to win this trophy. I think everybody wants that, we work hard for that so at the moment we’re all focused for the game on Saturday and I think everybody is confident to go out there and make sure we reach the next round.”

Reflecting on our draw at City last time out, in which Kevin played the first half, the Austrian international added: “City played very well, especially in the first hour. It was difficult for us to play our game, they pressed us, they played high-tempo football and it was very difficult to play from the back. It was one of the best games I’ve seen from City this season so in the end we can be very happy that we got one point away from home.

“We have some important games in the next few weeks and if we can win them we will still be in a very good position.”