Lewis Holtby: 'After losing 6-0 to Liverpool we know what we have to do better'
19-Jun-2020 07:00:12 | The Guardian
The Blackburn midfielder on his team’s play-off chances, his Anglo-German family and his former Spurs teammates
The Zoom call is coming to an end but one final question needs to be asked of Lewis Holtby: who is the best player he has had the privilege of calling a teammate? He puffs his cheeks before reeling off not one but three: Mousa Dembélé, Gareth Bale and Raúl, with whom he played at Schalke before joining Tottenham. His roll call has the makings of a handy five-a-side team. “I wouldn’t mind it,” he says, smiling. “Put Manuel Neuer in goal and we would win the Championship!”
Holtby may not be targeting the title when 10th-placed Blackburn Rovers’ season resumes at home to Bristol City on Saturday but the midfielder is determined to mount a promotion push via the play-offs. He sustained a knee ligament injury in February and was set to miss the run-in but is raring to go. “From 11th to third place, I would say it’s all to play for. From these nine games, you need to win at least six because the competition is going to be intense; you can win two on the bounce and be right up there and then draw two and be miles off it. It’s important to beat your hardest opponents.”
Related: What's at stake in the Championship: title race, play-offs and relegation
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