Hoeness: "We'll be eager and hungry"

Sebastian Hoeness on…

….the personnel: "The situation has improved, many players have returned. Fisnik Asllani is still building up his fitness, Stefan Posch has Corona but he's doing well. Benjamin Hübner is doubtful due to a back problem, we need to wait and see whether he's okay for Saturday. We'll need to see if Ihlas Bebou, Florian Grillitsch and Pavel Kadeřábek are candidates for the starting XI. They have come back in varying physical conditions. The first impression has been good, but we need to take a look at the remaining sessions and wait and see."

…the long-term injury absentees: "Ermin Bičakčić is back on the training pitch, that's super for all of us. He has come through training so far without any setbacks either. But he has to fight his way back in and increase the workload slowly after this very complicated knee injury. He's already doing a lot of things with us and is slowly being integrated into our training procedures. Robert Skov has settled back in well. He sustained an injury in the reverse fixture against Bochum, that shows how long he's been out for. It was a serious muscle injury but I have the impression he's in a good place again physically. He's back to scoring inimitable goals with is left foot in training and is playing with more and more courage. He'll still need a bit of time but he's started promisingly."

…the Bundesliga break: "We have worked through the 3-0 loss in Berlin, conducted individual talks and analysed the match in Berlin with the players who stayed at home. We were without 10 players away to Hertha, we now need to bear that in mind when managing workloads. But all the players have hung in there, things are moving in the right direction and our focus is on the exciting weeks coming up."

…lessons learned from the 3-0 in Berlin: "There were a few factors that came together, we were all very dissatisfied. Many players were missing, we had a difficult week of training, the change of coach was a special situation and the way the match panned out was also unlucky. Above all though, it was a poor performance from us; we had one of those days where nothing comes off. But the last time that was the case was our game in Bochum, so that shows that we've largely performed the way we wanted over the course of many months."

…the match against VfL and the home straight: "We want to get back to performing the way we see ourselves: as a team unit that attacks dynamically and courageously. We didn't show that against Hertha, but we want to bring that back on the pitch against Bochum. Preparations have not exactly been optimal due to the Bundesliga break but we're used to that by now. We want to beat Bochum. If we manage that, the likelihood that we stay in this region of the table will increase. The real crunch time starts when you get to Matchday 30 and beyond. From then on, you can set yourself very concrete objectives. At that point, you start to hone in on the final objective."

…Bochum's style of play: "They have not changed much since beating us 2-0 in the reverse fixture. They often mark man-to-man without the ball. That's simple, but effective. They strive to win the ball back high up and score goals on the counter, they enjoy success via second balls, challenges and free-kicks in the opposition half. We need to be mentally and physically ready for the game. Bochum are on the verge of achieving their season objective, the team can play with freedom. It'll be challenging but our aim is to atone for the reverse fixture. We've put ourselves in position in the table. The weeks ahead will now be decisive. Our success to date will be for nothing if we stop now. But we won't do that: we'll stay eager and hungry."

…Konstantinos Stafylidis, who is on loan at VfL from TSG: "The loan is absolutely paying off – for us, Stafy and Bochum. He is playing a good role there, is stable, healthy and getting a lot of starts. The team is performing remarkably well for a promoted club and he is playing a part. We'll sit down together with him and decide whether it makes sense to plan for the future together. The past eight or nine months have turned this situation into a positive."

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