Van der Vaart not allowing future to affect his game

Rafael van der Vaart’s future at Hamburg may be unclear, but the midfielder insists he will not allow the uncertainty to affect his game.

For the second successive season Hamburg – who dismissed Josef Zinnbauer earlier this month – are fighting relegation from the Bundesliga and the Netherlands international is fully focused on securing their top-flight status, rather than on his own fate.

“At the moment I am only concerned with the next eight games, that’s all that matters after that date, there is no new information,” he told the club’s official website.

“I have always said that I will give everything to keep the team up until the end, and will try to show my best form in each game. 

“The decision that I could leave the club at the end of the season, has no influence. I hope that I can help the team in the next eight games.

“We have to remain calm. We have quality, we know that, but we need to get this quality into the games, not just in training, and I hope I can help with that.”

A six-game winless run has left Hambug 16th in the table. Interim boss Peter Knabel is set to lead them in Saturday’s match at Bayer Leverkusen.

The club overcame Greuther Furth in a play-off to secure their safety last season.