'It's down to us to be successful'

Simon Rolfes and Peter Bosz on…

…shared targets:
Rolfes: "Here at Bayer 04, we have ambitious targets in all three competitions – in the Bundesliga, the DFB Cup and the Europa League. We want to play attractive attacking football and develop talent. Those are the key elements of our approach to the game. Peter Bosz fits in very well with that. We are looking forward to achieving our shared targets with ambition and determination."

Bosz: "I'm very happy here. I've got to know the club very well in one year and I can work brilliantly here. I have a very good team available – there is room for improvement but we're working on that together. The aim for the club and myself is winning titles. That is possible over the next few years – even in the second half of the season. I believe if we can work together over the long term then we can achieve things here. Together with my team and the players I'd like to make a contribution to that."

…discussions on and the timing of the contract extension:
Rolfes: "There were positive signals from both sides early on. The many double-fixture weeks dominated the day-to-day business so we looked to the winter break for the chance to discuss a couple of issues in peace and quiet and to finalise the contract extension."

Bosz: "It was important that both sides – club and coach – discussed everything with each other before taking that step. Questions, like 'Can I work as I did before? What does the future look like?'. We had a number of discussions at different phases in the first half of the season. It felt very good from the start. But you have to be 100 per cent behind it. And now we are at the right point to make the final decision to continue to work together."

…participation in three competitions and targets:
Bosz: "Being in three competitions is what we want. That's our aspiration. In the Bundesliga we want to end up at the top and in the DFB Cup and the Europa League we want to go as far as we can and in the best case scenario even win a competition. It's my aspiration as coach to manage that without injuries and make sure the players are fresh. It's down to us to be successful."

…on keeping in touch with Bayern, Dortmund and Leipzig:
Bosz: It's a huge challenge. Clubs like Bayern, Dortmund and Leipzig have more money than we do. Money is important but it's not everything. It's a challenge to us to compete with these clubs. There are several other clubs who have the same aspirations to be at the top as we do. Every year we try to make it into the leading group."

…other potential transfers:
Rolfes: "We made a good winter signing with Exequiel Palacios. We are well-placed in terms of the squad and there are no urgent demands for any position. Nevertheless, we keep our ears open and always look to see if we can improve the squad. If the chance comes up then we'll take it."