Mainz 05 head coach Bo Henriksen has urged his players to “play like five-year-olds” as the team looks to rediscover its spark following a poor run of results that has left them in the Bundesliga relegation zone.

The Danish coach’s call for freedom and joy comes after Mainz collected just four points from their opening eight league matches.

Henriksen is no stranger to adversity. When he arrived at the club a year and a half ago, Mainz were in deep trouble—17th in the table, nine points adrift of safety with 13 matches remaining. Under his leadership, they not only survived but surged to a remarkable sixth-place finish, securing European qualification for the first time since 2016.

Now, the 50-year-old faces another challenge as Mainz seek to halt a run of four straight Bundesliga defeats. Yet Henriksen believes the situation is far from desperate.

“Of course, it’s not the same situation as before,” he said ahead of Saturday’s home game against Werder Bremen. “We’ve played eight of 34 games, so there’s still time to turn things around.”

Despite a string of lacklustre displays, Henriksen insists the team’s performances have not been as poor as the table suggests.

“We have to get into the box more often and defend better,” he said. “Looking at the way we’ve played, we should be around tenth. We have four points, but statistically, we should have 10.3.”

For Henriksen, the difference lies in “small things”—a lack of decisiveness, energy, and courage in crucial moments.

“It’s small things, but a lot of small things,” he admitted.

After a German Cup defeat to VfB Stuttgart, the pressure on the Dane has only increased. But rather than tighten the screws, Henriksen wants his players to play with freedom and joy.

“You have to be relaxed, be free. The pressure is my job, not the players’,” he said. “It’s so important they play as if they were five years old—have fun, enjoy the game. I know it’s hard right now, but if we keep worrying about mistakes, we’ll only make more.”