'We have to be on top of our game to beat Bayern'

…selection options – apart from long-term injuries Pohjanpalo and Retsos: "Lars Bender is ruled out for tomorrow due to a thigh problem, otherwise everybody else is available."

…Lars Bender's injury: "He injured himself in training yesterday. I don't know exactly what's up – the doctor has just told me he can't play tomorrow."

…opponents Bayern Munich: "They've improved and are now playing better than before the winter break. They have a good team but we also have a good team. And so I'm expecting – as was the case before the matches against Gladbach and Wolfsburg – an interesting and intense game."

…tomorrow's encounter: "If you want to get a good result against Bayern then everything has to go right – not just the offensive or defensive game. We'll try that tomorrow. I think we've gained confidence from the last two games. Gladbach and Wolfsburg are good teams but it's also clear that Bayern are at another level. That means everything really has to go right tomorrow. And that's what we'll try to do."

…the improvement in his team: "We've been working together for about a month and it's easy to understand that not everything is quite what I'd like to see. But if I look at our last two games then I have to say that I'm very happy. I think we – in this one month – have reached a higher level. But to beat Bayern you have to be right on top of your game."

…increased confidence of his team: "I can't judge that. I've not been here that long but I can say that the players are confident. At the start I didn't have the impression that there was no confidence. I don't know what it was like before I started here and I can only say: Since I've been here, the players are confident – and they've shown it. It's also important that they are confident in the way they play – and they've shown that too."

…potentially helping out his former employers: "Yes, that's right – we can help Dortmund tomorrow but, above all, we can help the nice people who work here at Leverkusen. That's more important to me. We want to help ourselves and we can do that by having a good game."