"Self-belief determines our play"

Sebastian Langkamp speaks to us about the upcoming game in Mainz, facial injuries and his goal threat.

Berlin – It was an unnerving moment in an otherwise very quiet half. After a corner from Vladimir Darida, Sebastian Langkamp took a ball with full force to the temple. It was a 48th minute knockout blow. However, after a short pause, the Hertha centre back got back to his feet and played out the full 90 minutes, celebrating the capital city club’s 2-0 win over Augsburg at the conclusion of the match. The 29-year-old and his teammates will be looking for another victory this coming Saturday in Mainz.  

Ahead of matchday 29 of this Bundesliga season, Langkamp spoke to us about the upcoming away match, facial injuries and the current table situation.

herthabsc.de: Basti, now that the ‘Englische Woche’ has ended, you’ve started preparing for Mainz in what is a ‘normal’ training week. What do you prefer as a player at the end of the season, lots of games close together or a full week of training? 
Sebastian Langkamp: At the end of the season, it’s important that us players get enough to re-energise, even when we don’t have the burden of league, cup and European football. In our current situation with lots of injured players, it’s good to have a break between matches to give them a chance to be fit for the next match. It’s obvious that you feel it in your legs a bit more after three games in a week, but we’ve shown that we’re physically fit. 

herthabsc.de: You also felt the ball that hit you on the temple in the Augsburg game. How long was your head humming for?
Langkamp: I don’t feel the pain anymore. A few days off helped with that. But at the time it really hurt. The ball hit me right on the temple. I was out of it for a short while. The cut from the Dortmund game was worse. Then I of course got a scar. It would’ve been nice if I could’ve waited a few more game for another head injury. I need to keep some brain cells for later (laughs). 

herthabsc.de: A few people have been saying that you need to get yourself in the opposition penalty box more often so that you score again. Your last goal was a while back… 
Langkamp: I don’t understand the fuss. I can be relied on to get the very, very important goals and I save myself for them (laughs). 

herthabsc.de: In the recent win against Augsburg your central defensive partner John Anthony Brooks scored. How important was this win after three defeats on the spin? 
Langkamp: Very important! For self-confidence more than anything, as self-confidence determines our play. Whenever we’ve gone out there with confidence, we’ve always played well. Therefore, it was very important after three defeats, which we hadn’t suffered at any stage this season, to get a victory. Now we have a standard run-in. We have ambitions of playing European football next season. With that in mind, the win against Augsburg was very, very important. 

herthabsc.de: The league is very tight. Lots of teams are still looking upwards and also downwards. How closely will you monitor the table during the run-in? 
Langkamp: When the remaining games become fewer and fewer, you look at the table a little more often. But it still remains very speculative. You have to remember that all of the teams are playing against each other. And of course all of those games are completely separate from ours. We need to need to gain enough points to reach our goal and then it’s irrelevant what the other teams do. 

herthabsc.de: Hertha are fighting for Europe, Mainz are fighting to stay up. To what extent will nerves play a role on Saturday? 
Langkamp: Last season we were both fighting for Europe on the last day of the season. Right now I think that Mainz are under a lot more pressure than we are based on the table. Perhaps we can use that to our advantage. We need to show that we’ve learnt from last season and that we really want to achieve our goal. We have to. I believe that our team have been a different side in pressure situations this season. 

herthabsc.de: How do you think you can get a win after seven away game in a row without one?
Langkamp: We can’t become obsessed with this record. It is a big thing but what’s important is that we’re braver away from home and give a better account of ourselves. We need to turn it around because we need to pick up some points away from home. We can’t assume that we’re going to win every home game.