After a “complicated first half of the season”, VfB Stuttgart wants to quickly find its way out of the bottom of the table. Sports director Sven Mislintat sees glimmers of hope – and warns of the first task.
You obviously can’t call what VfB Stuttgart’s professionals experienced around Christmas a winter break. “It wasn’t really a break,” says sporting director Sven Mislintat on the club’s own TV channel. “We gave the boys intensive runs, they already had to do a proper programme.”
After all, VfB go into the new year with a queasy feeling – third last in the table. “It was a pretty complicated first half of the year with a lot of injuries, Corona, a lot of tasks that we were given and tried to solve,” Mislintat said. “We only scored 17 points but we know exactly what we have to work on. “
“If not 16th, who can we beat at home? “
The hopes are especially carried by the returnees around Sasa Kalajdzic, even if Corona has already struck again at VfB and once again thwarted the second big encourager with Silas. “We are happy that more and more players are coming back now,” Mislintat is nevertheless confident as usual. “Of course we know that we are in the relegation place. But if all 30, 31 are healthy, that’s already a really good quality.”
Above all, he hopes “that the offensive players who have been out for a long time find their rhythm and form very, very quickly”, because their quality is something “we can definitely use. Goals and becoming more consistent and finishing in the final third. “
The second half of the season begins in just one week for VfB at SpVgg Greuther Fürth Mislintat wants to travel to the bottom team “with maximum respect”. “For them, it’s also quite clear: this is a starting signal not only for the second half of the season, but perhaps also for the chase to catch up. They will also be thinking: if not 16th, then who can we beat at home? “
Mislintat warns that the Fürth side “could also kick”. And in general: “For a VfB Stuttgart in 16th place, there are no easy games in the Bundesliga.
