VfL Wolfsburg went into the winter break with a run of four wins and a few more games without defeat. Niko Kovac sees "a certain tension" as necessary and beneficial in order to carry this positive pattern into the restart.

While the wolves had a very bumpy start to the season, they put in a remarkable final sprint in the last few weeks before the winter break that ends this week. The last four games before the break were all won. In total there was a series of eight games without a defeat.

VfL was on the upswing, so the break came at a bad time. Of course, Niko Kovac would have preferred to continue riding the wave of success rather than having to think about how to make it the order of the day again in about two months.

His recipe for a successful restart (via kicker): "We want to use the week to build up a certain amount of tension. Each individual has the opportunity to recommend themselves in order to get the starting place against Freiburg."

In short: The coach does not give any of his players a starting eleven guarantee. Of course, the team, which also performed very well before the break, "already has a small advantage", as he admitted. And yet he knew how to emphasize that the teammates "don't sleep": "I'm not a fan of issuing free tickets. Then there's a certain comfort."

Everyone from Wolfsburg will have to make an effort again and recommend them for a mission during the training week. Kovac takes the restart literally.

However, he also has to do this in order to produce the highest possible willingness to perform. After all, the new year starts against the second in the table, against SC Freiburg. It will be a big challenge to maintain the unbeaten streak.

This article was originally published on 90min.com/de as Wolfsburg should continue to win - that's why Kovac wants "a certain tension".