Hjulmand focused on winning his Mainz reunion
Kasper Hjulmand says Bayer Leverkusen is full of confidence after its recent results, and he wants to start a busy period for the club with a win over Mainz on Sunday (AEDT).
Leverkusen is unbeaten in its six matches under Hjulmand in all competitions and went into the international break on the back of a 2-0 win over Union Berlin in the Bundesliga.
Hjulmand has collected 10 points from his first four league matches with Leverkusen, a feat only surpassed in the competition by Klaus Augenthaler (12), who won his first five games in charge of the Werkself back in 2003.
Leverkusen currently sits fifth on the table, seven points behind early pacesetter Bayern Munich, ahead of Hjulmand's return to Mainz, where he spent a little less than a year in 2014-2015.
"We've been able to take confidence from our last outings and want to continue engraining our style of play," Hjulmand said.
"This block up until the next international break is obviously hugely important. But we only focus on the next game.
"Bo [Henriksen] is a top coach and a great guy. But [Saturday] isn't about him and me. It's about getting the win for Bayer 04."
Mainz has struggled so far this season and sits 16th on the table at the start of the weekend, but could drop into the relegation zone by kick-off.
It has earned just four points from its six games, having won just once so far, losing four times and drawing also four times.
It has lost its past two Bundesliga matches 6-0 on aggregate, the worst record in the league over the past two matchdays.
Mainz has failed to score in four of those six matches, while it has not kept a clean sheet in its past 17 Bundesliga outings, a run dating back to February, but Hjulmand remains wary.
"[It is] a team with great quality, which showed last season by finishing sixth and qualifying for Europe what the team is capable of," Hjulmand added.
