Seoane: “We need to improve”

Head coach Gerardo Seoane answered the media’s questions in his press conference ahead of the Foals’ Bundesliga game away at VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday (17:30 CEST). We’ve summarised his most important comments.

...the squad situation: Manu Koné remains sidelined. Florian Neuhaus is also still a doubt. He’s got an Achilles issue that has been troubling him for a while – it got worse again on Thursday. We’ll make a decision on Saturday whether Flo is able to travel to Wolfsburg. Alassane Plea and Tomáš Čvančara have taken part in all the sessions this week without any problems. They’ve naturally felt a little tired due to the increased intensity. We’ll see whether they start or are options off the bench.

...possible changes to the starting eleven: There are lots of possible options. Almost all the players have got rhythm over the course of the training sessions. Of course we’re also considering changes of personnel. However, I won’t reveal these in advance.

...the past week of training: The players were really disappointed straight after the game, but they returned with fresh energy following the day off on Monday. They were very focused and tried to implement what was asked of them. We’ve used the week to discuss lots of things and to work on and improve a couple of things.

...the conclusions from the Freiburg game: We all need to show a reaction following this tough loss against Freiburg – in terms of the defensive side of things, we need to close spaces down, be aggressive out of possession and show intensity.

...the current results: Our performances aren’t satisfactory at the moment. We know that we haven’t made the progress we were after in the last few weeks and that’s reflected in the results. We have to keep working, address our mistakes and improve.

...the approach for the next game: We need to concede fewer goals, score more goals and hold onto leads when we’re in front in order to be successful again. Ultimately, that’s the reality of football and the challenge then is to improve.