Nicklas Bendtner has said he is “tired of being portrayed as an idiot” and that he is working harder than ever to try to force his way into Wolfsburg’s starting XI.

The Bundesliga club take on Manchester United in the Champions League on Tuesday night but the Danish striker is expected to start on the bench, with Bas Dost the manager Dieter Hecking’s preferred choice up front.

It has been a frustrating 16 months for Bendtner at Wolfsburg, often out of the starting XI and unable to get any momentum. But in a wide-ranging interview with the German magazine 11Freunde he has backed himself to show everyone that he is still capable of leading the line for a top European club.

“You can ask anyone at Wolfsburg: Is Nicklas in the gym before training? Is Nicklas always in the gym after training? And anyone would confirm that [I am]. I have even bought an exercise bike for my flat. That I am working hard is there for everyone to see.

“I have always had a huge desire but perhaps not always the right perspective. I used to think that a forward’s responsibility was to score goals. Now I know that you have to run as well.”

Bendtner has started only three games this season and has mainly come off the bench in the second half, scoring two goals. His confidence remains high but describes as “bullshit” the story that he once scored 10 out of 9 in a self-confidence test at Arsenal.

In that respect, he feels that the public perception of him is unfair. “I don’t say yes to every interview request. I am tired of being portrayed as an idiot. And even journalists who I trust are not capable of describing in words what I am feeling when I am not playing.”

The Dane also expanded on why the tiger is his favourite animal, having described himself as the “tiger who never gives up” towards the end of last season.

“The tiger stands at the end of the food chain. He eats to survive, without any compassion, he doesn’t even feel it. He is the predator par excellence, an animal of dangerous beauty.”