Ilzer: "There can be no sitting back"

Christian Ilzer spoke about the positive run of results, the opposition and the remaining games at the press conference prior to the Bundesliga match against 1 FC Heidenheim (Sunday at 17:30 CET / Live Ticker at tsg-hoffenheim.de).

Christian Ilzer on…

…the improving form: "We have achieved some good results recently. We can feel this energy from the results and have to carry it forward. However, there can be no sitting back. We still have a lot of games against direct rivals. It would be fatal to think that we are already there. We need good focus and good concentration."

…the remaining games: "Everyone is aware that the season is not over in March. We've always said that it's a difficult season. We have ourselves to blame for that and want to win back-to-back matches against direct rivals in the battle to stay in the league. After that, we can look up in the table. The results have been positive, but we also want to develop in footballing terms."

…the opposition: "They have had a change of pace after the English weeks. That wasn't so easy for us either. They can make more adjustments now, also in terms of personnel and tactics, but we're prepared for that. We know what to expect and won't be blinded by the situation in the table."

…the lack of a second front to compete on: "We can of course prepare for each opponent for a week, but you play for an entire season for the right to play at international level. We would have liked to have gone through a few more rounds in the Europa League. But we of course have more time without the second front to compete on. It's also still possible to deliver week-in, week-out in this rhythm with international matches. That must be our goal in the future."

…the all-Baden-Württemberg clash: "I've never experienced this clash before. We want to transfer the energy over to the spectators and get the stadium going. That's what we aim to do week-in, week-out."

…the personnel situation: "In Marius Bülter's case, it's a race against time; it's looking more like a no. Otherwise, the squad will be similar to the one in Bochum. Anton Stach will miss out due to his fifth yellow card, but we were able to prepare for that during the week."

The opposition's form:

Heidenheim have been waiting for a Bundesliga win since 11 January. Frank Schmidt's charges were also eliminated from the Conference League by FC Copenhagen. Last week, Heidenheim suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Head-to-head record:

TSG are unbeaten against Heidenheim to date. In addition to the 3-2 victory in their first meeting, there have been two draws – including the reverse fixture, which ended goalless.