Leverkusen's Volland: 'My time will come'
Yet to score for new club Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Germany international Kevin Volland is confident the goals will eventually come, even if he does not find the net against his former side TSG 1899 Hoffenheim this weekend.
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After suffering their third reverse of the campaign on Matchday 7 - a 2-1 loss away to SV Werder Bremen - Die Werkself find themselves in tenth spot in the Bundesliga standings.
On Saturday, Roger Schmidt's side are hoping to find the result they require in order to kick-start their campaign. Speaking exclusively to bundesliga.com ahead of the encounter, the former Hoffenheim forward predicted a win for his new employers.
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bundesliga.com: Kevin Volland, what will it mean to you to face your former club Hoffenhiem for the first time as a Leverkusen player?
Kevin Volland: This is obviously going to be a very special game for me, a game where I'll face my old colleagues. I had a great time in Hoffenheim and still maintain a very good relationship with many of the players and staff members. I keep in regular contact with Sebastian Rudy, Mark Uth and the guys from the physio department. They’re all great guys and I’m pleased that I'll be able to see them again. I think it’s the way it should be, that I still have good friends at the club after my four years there.
bundesliga.com: How do you assess this current Hoffenheim side, unbeaten as they are in the Bundesliga this season?
Volland: I remember when playing in Julian Nagelsmann’s team last season, you could sense the team stepping up a level. Hoffenheim subsequently added strength during the summer. Although they like to play on the front foot, they can operate within a variety of systems. I think that Hoffenheim are justifiably where they are right now because of the solid work they're putting in. It all adds up to being a very difficult game for us on Saturday.
"We must regain some consistency in order to climb our way up the table." Kevin Volland
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bundesliga.com: You suffered a metacarpal fracture in early September which upset your rhythm. Is it possible to maintain a certain playing standard when you are not completely fit?
Volland: Whether in Hoffenheim or in Leverkusen, you need to be 100 per cent fit in order to reach peak performance. I've noticed over the years that, if you are not playing at full fitness, you miss that freshness and power in terms of speed. For the first couple of weeks after my fracture, things were extraordinary, I couldn’t balance properly, for example, while falling led to a lot of confusion in terms of weight distribution. That took a lot for me to get through but I'm glad it's behind me and I’m back on track.
bundesliga.com: Leverkusen's goal at the beginning of the season was to narrow the gap to last season's runners-up Dortmund. Why hasn't that happened?
Volland: We just haven't performed consistently and didn’t produce a showing like the one against Dortmund for two or three games in-a-row. The recent defeat in Bremen hurt us a lot because it was all down to us; we didn’t play well. The fact that there are many games left, however, means we can make up for the poor showings in the past. The bottom line is that we have to progress in the Champions League while we also have our chances to improve in the Bundesliga; the season is still young.
bundesliga.com: You were overlooked for the game against Tottenham following a poor showing against Bremen. How do you cope with the increased competition for places at Leverkusen?
Volland: Obviously the more competitions you're competing in, the bigger the squad you will need, otherwise it would be impossible to achieve goals. If you have a poor game, as I did against Bremen, then of course it's possible that you won't feature in the following match; that's normal.