Hamburg coach Thorsten Fink has urged his players to "scratch, bite and fight" against German league leaders Bayern Munich on Saturday.
The 44-year-old Fink, who won the Bundesliga title four times as a midfielder with Bayern, took over as Hamburg coach in October after joining from FC Basel, but says there will be no love lost against his old club.
"We will not raise the white flag or throw in the towel," said Fink, whose team have lost just once in 10 games since he took charge.
"We battle for our points and we will keep our foot on the gas, that is the only thing I want to see from my team. We need to scratch, bite and fight.
"At the moment, we can't keep up with Bayern, in terms of our game, but we can beat them."
Hamburg were hammered 5-1 at home by defending champions Borussia Dortmund 10 days ago, but bounced back last Saturday with an impressive 2-1 win at Hertha Berlin.
"In Berlin, my team showed how we can win, just as they will need to show against Bayern," said Fink.
"We will need discipline and a certain attitude if we want to win."
Fink has certainly made his mark at Hamburg and says his long-term goal is to get them up from their current position of 11th in the league to become title contenders.
"I think there is potential here in Hamburg, in this club and in this city," said Fink. "This is a club the same size as Bayern Munich, but of course we are currently still far, far from where they are.
"Nevertheless, everything is possible: even four years ago, Borussia Dortmund were not where they are today."
Source: AFP
