Niklas Stark is not hugely fond of New Year’s resolutions. When he wants to change something, he does so immediately, rather than waiting for a specific date. In an interview on Thursday afternoon, the 28-year-old provided an insight into what the Green-Whites have been working on over the Winter break and aim to implement into their performances in the second half of the season.
The defender is more than happy to be preparing for the upcoming fixtures in Bremen as opposed to at a training camp in a hot Mediterranean country like some of the other Bundesliga sides. After all, as the Winter break is so short, the Green-Whites don’t have long until they’re back on the road to face VfL Bochum. “We’re a team who have the desire to improve every day, week on week,” explained Werder’s number 4 to the journalists. “And we want to prove that by winning points.” For this reason, Ole Werner’s boys do not have any time to waste.
In the two weeks of training prior to the friendly against Eintracht Braunschweig on Sunday, 7th January (15:00 CET), the Green-Whites have directed their focus towards picking up points and climbing the Bundesliga table. “The first-half of the season wasn’t easy for us, but we definitely saw progress,” Stark shared. “We want to carry the momentum from our last few games into the second half of the season. With a bit more luck, we could’ve won more points beforehand, and we now want to keep pushing forward.”
If they are able to come out on top at the Vonovia-Ruhrstadion, SVW could finish the first half of the season on a good note and, in terms of points, almost match the strong start they made upon their return to the Bundesliga following promotion. Stark is nevertheless hesitant to put too much pressure on the upcoming clash against VfL Bochum, who are currently one position higher than the Green-Whites in the table. “It will definitely be tricky, but not necessarily a defining game in our season,” Stark explained. “We know it will be a tough game where we’ll have to prove that we can hold our own as a team.” The Green-Whites’ main target is to bring all three points back to Bremen, and head into the second half of the season with a positive mindset on the back of a win.
