Gerhardt: “Hoffenheim are having an impressive season“

You have established yourself firmly in the starting eleven since moving to Wolfsburg in the summer. What are the big differences between VfL and your former side Köln?

Yannick Gerhardt: I do not want to compare the clubs. Both are very professionally run and there are no complaints on that level. Here at VfL there are players with different qualities. I would like to make the next steps in my career and I am pleased that while here I have been called up to the national team for the first time.

You were unfortunate in midweek when a deflected goal decided the game against Bayern Munich in the cup. How disappointed are the group?

Gerhardt: Losing a game is always disappointing, but we can take a lot of positives from the match in Munich. We gave very little away defensively and at the other end we made a few good chances to get the equaliser.

After the loss, your head coach talked about a “stable performance” and “difficult challenges ahead” in the league, including the match against TSG Hoffenheim. What are you expecting from Sunday’s match and what do you think makes them a dangerous opponent?

Gerhardt: Hoffenheim have had a very impressive season so far and they are in good form. We know how they play and the quality they have in their team. Sandro Wagner cannot play, of course, but they have a lot of dangerous alternatives options in the team, and a head coach who prepares his team very well.

Things have not really got going for VfL in the league. Dieter Hecking departed and a few new players have arrived in the winter break – what is the general feeling since the turn of the year? What are your aims for the next few weeks?

Gerhardt: We were able to use the break to rebuild our strength and determination for the next few weeks. We trained with intensity at the camp and got off to a good start against HSV, and the other games since were close-run. Now it is important that we think from game to game, as clichéd as that may sound.

You won two of your last three home games. Why has home form been such a struggle for your team for most of the year?

Gerhardt: That is not an easy question to answer, but in the last three we have two wins. On Sunday we want to keep up the improvement and put in a good performance in front of our own fans. I am excited to show what we can do in front of our own fans.

The two teams shared the points in the reverse fixture. How do you expect this one to go?

Gerhardt: As previously said, we know how TSG play, and that was also on show in the first game. However, we are a rather different looking side than we were before the break, with Yunus Malli, Paul-Georges Ntep and Riechedly Bazoer coming in and also Daniel Didavi back and available – we have a lot more quality in the team now. We are highly motivated and want to get the points.

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