Seoane orders team off the training pitch ahead of Wolfsburg: "Clear the air."
With only one win from the last six competitive fixtures, B04 head-coach Gerardo Seoane didn't exactly have a great deal of time to lick his wounds during his Friday presser.
The Werkself trainer nevertheless emphasized that his team needed to clear their heads ahead of Sunday's duel with Wolfsburg.
Seoane also revealed that Timothy Fosu-Mensah might not be available for the trip to Lower Saxony on Sunday.
The Werkself trainer nevertheless emphasized that his team needed to clear their heads ahead of Sunday's duel with Wolfsburg.
Seoane also revealed that Timothy Fosu-Mensah might not be available for the trip to Lower Saxony on Sunday.
| Gerardo Seoane. |
In terms of approaching a big match on a tight turnaround, Seoane divulged to members of the press that he ordered his players to take a joint bike ride on the Rhine. For the Swiss trainer, nothing could be more important than getting the recent Europa League elimination off everyone's mind.
"[I told them] to process everything together, to air things out a bit and look ahead," Seoane explained, "The clear message is that we have to band together in order to deliver a good performance in Wolfsburg and get a good result."
Club boss Rudi Völler, also present at the presser, backed his coach's decision and emphatically declared that the team would not go three matches without scoring a goal.
"That's not going to happen," Völler noted, "Despite the many injuries, we have the will and quality to accomplish our goals. We need to defend third place over the next eight games."
The "many" injuries continue to mount for Seoane. After news broke this week that fullback Jeremie Frimpong would join Florian Wirtz in being out for the season, replacement Timothy Fosu-Mensah also succumbed to cramps in the team's Europa League loss.
According to the B04 trainer, the Dutch defender's status remains "questionable" for Sunday. A further MRI examination is needed to determine if the injury is more serious.
Seoane will have some defensive rebuilding to do. His recent reliance on wingbacks may have to be scrapped in favor of a straight back-four with some of his defensive midfielders inserted into the fullback roles.
A more likely solution may see him start Odilon Kossounou and Piero Hincapie at fullback. Seoane strongly hinted at this possibility, though he kept the option of using a defensive midfielder open.
The final words of the press conference belonged to Völler.
"If we let ourselves be talked down now, that would be nonsense," the former German national team coach emphasized, "We won't make ourselves smaller than we are. Several times this season we've shown a strong reaction when things aren't going well. We just have to do it again."