Eugen Polanski: "Control our own destiny"

Against Ingolstadt, Hertha and Mainz you came back from behind to get three points and got a draw from that position against Köln. Where has this character come from? A lot of these went the other way in the first round of games.

Eugen Polanski: The character was there, the results just weren’t going our way. We have had success now. We are thinking more positively and believe in ourselves as a result. Things that we found more difficult are also working now. We work hard in training and go into games confidently, play attacking football. We make mistakes too but we put in the effort to iron them out. That’s what we’re about at the moment.

Should you play in the remaining two games this season you will reach 100 Bundesliga appearances for Hoffenheim. Is that special for you?

Polanski: That’s the first time I’ve heard that. 100 is a big number so yes, it’s something that will be great, but what’s important is that you try to win as many of these games as possible.

What’s it been like in the past few of weeks? Is fighting a relegation battle more tiring mentally or physically?

Polanski: Towards the end of the season we notice that training and games are physically taxing. The break in summer will do us a lot of good but we still have a way to go. It’s easier mentally when you pick up the points. Before we had to learn how to deal with setbacks and losses but I think that just made us stronger for the fight to stay in the top league.

In Hanover you can guarantee safety. Have you thought about that or are you focusing solely on your performance in that game?

Polanski: Since Julian took over we’ve had a clear path laid out. The focus has been on what we can change to be successful. That has been the key to success in recent weeks in my opinion. It has no benefit to concentrate on other things and look at other clubs’ situations. We’ve worked so that we can decide our own fate and we will put our focus on getting three points in our game. Then it really doesn’t matter what the other clubs do. We don’t want to be the team that relies on other, rather the team that controls its own destiny.

What do you expect from the game against Hannover? The 96ers have stabilized under Daniel Stendel…

Polanski: It’s difficult to call this far ahead. The morale problem has been solved with Stendel’s arrival. They are playing better football as a team now. Their players want to make a good impression so they can be kept on next week. It will be difficult and the team that wants it more will win.

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