Werder Bremen preparing to sack Horst Steffen after winless run extends to 10 matches

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Werder Bremen head coach Horst Steffen looks to be in line for the sack this weekend despite the fact that his team didn’t lose in the Bundesliga afternoon kickoffs. Bremen’s chief personnel boss Clemens Fritz declined to commit to Steffen in a post-match interview. Steffen, informed of Fritz’s lack of support at the post-match press conference, sounded like a man ready to concede his job. 

Fritz’s statement on Steffen

Fritz first had to answer a question about calls for his own ouster during a pre-kickoff interview. Fritz told German broadcaster DAZN that he understood that fans were displeased with the team’s current performance and that he needed to deal with the criticism leveled his way.

“We haven’t won in ten games and it’s important that we sit down and discuss this,” Fritz told Sky Germany when asked about Steffen after the full-time-whistle. “We’re going to let this sink in for now. Then we’ll sit down and analyze it. It’s important that we take stock of the situation first. The team displayed some unity today, but that’s just one point. It’s difficult to extrapolate much from that.“

Horst Steffen’s two interviews

“I feel good here and look forward to continuing to work together,” Steffen told German public broadcaster ARD. “And I hope that will be for a long time to come. I assume that I will continue to be the coach. I believe we can win matches.“

“Whether or not I can continue working here isn’t up to me,” Steffen then added at the post-match press conference when asked to directly comment Fritz’s lack of stated support for him. “It is what it is. I think It’ll continue. I just work with the team. Everything else is something else.“

GGFN | Peter Weis