Outgoing champions VfL Wolfsburg missed out on a place in the last four of the Europa League after going down to Fulham on Thursday, but in the Bundesliga they have been in fine form of late.

No-one exemplifies their return to winning ways better than striker Edin Dzeko, who has stormed up the individual scoring chart in recent weeks and is currently one of three players leading the way in the race for the top scorer's crown.

Edin Dzeko, Wolfsburg have won six of their last seven games in the Bundesliga. Does the team have the same level of self-confidence now that took it to the title last year?

Edin Dzeko: This run has boosted our self-confidence again, for sure. That feeling only comes when you're getting results. But I don't want to start comparing our form now with winning the title. The important thing is that we've got ourselves back on track.

The defence has come in for a lot of criticism, but they have been particularly solid of late. What has Lorenz-Günther Köstner done to stabilise things at the back?

Dzeko: He's addressed the defensive play of the team as a whole. And obviously the same applies here, that the defenders feel more secure when the team is getting good results and when we're keeping a clean sheet here and there as well, as we have recently against Hoffenheim and in Mainz and Mönchengladbach.

How much of an additional bonus is it to have Diego Benaglio back in goal?

Dzeko: Diego is an important part of our team and we're glad he's able to play again. But Marwin Hitz also did a very good job in the interim and we felt confident with him in goal as well.

Last season you yourself scored five times in the first half of the campaign and 21 times after the restart. This time around you notched seven before the winter break and have scored eleven already in 2010. Why are you so much more successful in the second season half?

Dzeko: I don't know (laughs). Obviously I can make more of an impact when things are going well for the team as a whole. And this season, as last, we didn't perform consistently well in the first half of the campaign. Now the team is more stable, and we forwards are profiting from the situation.

In the last five games alone you've hit the net nine times. How much work and how much intuition does it take to always get yourself into the right place at the right time?

Dzeko: Always being in the right place is one matter. But getting the ball at the right moment is at least as important. The basic work is done every day in training. That's where we practice together as a team, getting our individual and collective movement off pat.

Many experts had written VfL off for the season a few weeks ago. Now you're back in the top half of the table again. Where did the team find the strength to keep plugging away?

Dzeko: We never lost faith in our strengths or our quality. We just needed to get a result. But of course we're still a long way away from where we want to be.

Wolfsburg are now just two points shy of sixth place. Will VfL be playing in Europe again next season? And if so, what makes you so confident about it?

Dzeko: There's no point in making predictions at this stage. Clearly we're aiming to finish as high up the table as possible. But for that to happen we've got to win our own games and hope the competition slips up. It's not entirely in our hands.

Wolfsburg have won their last three away games without conceding a goal. Next, you're off to Nürnberg. Has that been earmarked as another victory?

Dzeko: We're going there to get a result, that goes without saying. But you should never plan on coming away with a win, because a lot depends on your form on the day, as the game against Hertha showed (Wolfsburg lost 5-1, ed.). But if we want to stay in with a chance of making the Europa League, we'll need to win at Nürnberg.