Thiam: "3 points would have done us good"

Following the disappointing performance at Duisburg last time out, the Wolves skipper Pablo Thiam was in no mood to mince his words in the latest edition of Captain’s Corner. Thiam looks ahead to Saturday’s Bundesliga round 12 clash against struggling Cologne: "Cologne will scratch and bite because they are desperately in need of points ", knows the Guinea international defensive midfielder.

vfl-wolfsburg.de: Pablo, the Wolves  recently performed well against so-called stronger teams. During the unlucky FA Cup defeat in Bremen, there were plenty of positive aspects to be taken from the game. How would you describe the setback in Duisburg last weekend?

Pablo Thiam: Difficult to say. We had made our plans for the match, intending to play very differently than we did. We never found our way into the game and let them overrun us. They won the game through their willingness to run for each other, their aggression and their battling attitude; three points would have done us good.

Simon Jentzsch claimed that a lack of effort lost the game in Duisburg, although you warned the players before the match about the possible pitfalls involved in playing so-called lesser sides...

Pablo Thiam: We failed miserably as a team and we missed the chance of taking a big point. Maybe we were a little unsettled at starting the match as favourites and not outsiders like we had been in previous matches.

On Saturday, newly-promoted Cologne visit the VOLKSWAGEN ARENA. They have a lot in common with Duisburg, like a long run of negative results. Should that serve as a warning to the Wolves?

Pablo Thiam: We are warned and don’t plan to repeat the mistakes made in Duisburg. We were able to prepare our team for the match against Cologne.

What kind of game are you expecting?

Pablo Thiam: A similar one to the Duisburg clash. Cologne will scratch and bite because they are desperately in need of points. They will mass their defence around their own penalty area. We have to play with aggression and work for the team. More importantly, we must clinically take the few chances we expect to create. 

Andres D'Alessandro will not face Cologne because of a thigh injury. The Wolves have m compensated the loss of key players well this season. Who will replace him in the first team?

Pablo Thiam: I don’t know, but I’m sure that we will have a system in place which spreads his duties around the team as we have done in the past. We have always managed to compensate for such situations. Other players will have to do his job.

Thank you Pablo! Good luck against Cologne!