Heidenheim’s Frank Schmidt insists big win doesn’t shift relegation calculus: “We still need 15 points.”

Heidenheim’s Frank Schmidt insists big win doesn’t shift relegation calculus: “We still need 15 points.”

FC Heidenheim head coach Frank Schmidt called upon his players to simply enjoy their final Bundesliga games ahead of this weekend’s Union Berlin matchup. By all accounts, the FCH professionals answered their coach’s call. Heidenheim secured just their fourth Bundesliga victory of the season on Saturday. There were plenty of positives to take from the 3-1 win at the Voith Arena.

Austrian attacker Mathias Honsak finally opened his 2025/26 Bundesliga account with a magnificent brace. Certified transfer flop Budu Zivzivadze also scored his second goal of the season. The former Karlsruher SC star could have added another were it not for a disallowed goal.

A makeshift front two consisting of Marvin Pieringer and Stefan Schimmer put the opponent under constant pressure. Captain Patrick Mainka and the FCH defensive line held Union to under 1.0 xG. Heidenheim – still dead last in the Bundesliga table – at least have 19 points.

The fact that both Wolfsburg (against Eintracht Frankfurt) and St. Pauli (against Bayern Munich) also lost on Saturday accords the Ostalbenschwaben a lifeline. Heidenheim are only six points off St. Pauli for the promotion-relegation playoff place.

Reporters at the post-match press conference naturally wished to know if – with five matchdays remaining – Schmidt was prepared to rescind a statement from some weeks back concerning Heidenheim’s inevitable relegation.

Schmidt stuck to the generally accepted “Bundesliga Safety Threshold” of 34-35 points in a single season. In the 52-year-old’s judgement, that’s all that truly counts. That also happens to be the maximum number of points left to be awarded.

Frank Schmidt insists “nothing has changed”

“We had some players out there who were a little more relaxed today,” Schmidt noted during a series of questions at the post-match press conference. “I was simply happy that something went right for a change. I’m happy about three points. It would be nice if we can do it again against Freiburg last week.

“It’s great that the players enjoy this and have a better mindset,” Schmidt continued. “For you guys, it’s six points. For me, it’s still 15 points in five games. It’s a big gap and it’s not my place to give you a synthetic talk about ‘conviction and courage’.

“It’s true that we’ve played a lot of good games this season,” Schmidt went on “The last four [a narrow loss against Frankfurt and draws against Leverkusen and Gladbach prior to the win] were solid and we were very unlucky in some cases.

“But I’m sticking to my line,” Schmidt emphasized. “I know that everybody wants me to say that everyone is hoping and believing. We’ll see if we’re discussing some sort of magnificent miracle here after the 34th matchday [a home fixture against Mainz].

“For now we just play,” Schmidt concluded. “We’ll focus on solving problems and not making calculations.“

GGFN | Peter Weis