"Work as a unit"

On Friday, 13 April (kick-off: 20:30 CEST), VfL Wolfsburg welcome FC Augsburg under the Volkswagen Arena floodlights. The Wolves returned to winning ways with a 2-0 success at SC Freiburg last time out and are now intent on taking the next step towards Bundesliga survival. At his pre-match press conference, head coach Bruno Labbadia offered his thoughts on a range of issues ...

… feelings ahead of the game: "We need to be at 100 per cent tomorrow evening. We want to pick up where we left off in recent games – above all where we left off in Freiburg. That means complete focus and high intensity, both on and off the ball. We'll also need to show some patience, as we're facing a well-organised team tomorrow – that can be seen in their results. Augsburg drew 1-1 in Dortmund and 0-0 in Leverkusen. I know of the club's record against FCA, but that doesn't mean I'm scared. My overriding feeling is respect for them. There's a reason they're safe in mid-table."

… the win in Freiburg: "Regardless of the current situation, every win naturally does you good and vindicates the work you're doing. The only problem in the games prior to that was that we didn't take the points. That makes it more difficult for the players and for us as coaches. That's why it was a step forwards in Freiburg."

… team news: "This week's training was much better than in previous weeks. We had more players on the pitch, although we do have one new issue: Josuha Guilavogui was forced to leave training early yesterday with a muscular problem and won't be available tomorrow. Jakub Blaszczykowski, Felix Uduokhai, Marcel Tisserand and John Anthony Brooks have all been in training, but that was only for a couple of days, so they're not really candidates to start against Augsburg. We'll have to have a think about whether one or two of them should be included in the squad to bolster our defensive options."

… the recent upturn in form: "We hope the last match gives us more confidence when we attack. That said, defensive stability remains the key aspect of our game. We want to be compact at the back and then attack quickly in transition. We need to be ready to work together – that was key to the success in Freiburg. Nany Landry Dimata, for example, really got stuck in up front and that proved really important. I know that strikers are usually judged by the goals they score, but in our situation, we need someone up top who gets us on the front foot, puts the opposition under pressure and closes down the spaces. That's one of the reasons we've not scored very often of late. Right now, there are demands on each individual to do what's best for the team. We only have a chance if we work as a unit."