“Learn from the defeat”

VfB Stuttgart begin the second half of the Bundesliga season with a trip to VfL Bochum on Saturday afternoon. Sebastian Hoeneß is fully aware of the difficulty of the task. “I expect them to go for it with their fans behind them,” said the VfB head coach. “That’s part of their DNA and the approach of Thomas Letsch. We have to be prepared for that.”

VfB came up against deep-lying opponents in their last away match at Borussia Mönchengladbach last weekend, which ended in a 3-1 defeat. Hoeneß explained the reasons for the loss: “There isn’t just one reason. With the first goal, the middle opened up and Robin Hack then did very well. An early goal creates a dynamic. On top of that there were problems with pressing, ineffectiveness in the final third and the fact we didn’t go into the duels properly.”

However, following an intense week of training, the VfB boss is confident about the assignment at Bochum. “We want to learn from the defeat at Gladbach and do better at Bochum with a good performance over 90 minutes.”

The club has announced three contract extensions in the last six days, with Enzo Millot, captain Waldemar Anton and most recently Pascal Stenzel all agreeing new deals – much to Hoeneß’s delight. “Calle [Stenzel] is a really good footballer and interprets his position brilliantly,” he commented. “He also has a top character and is very popular. Calle’s a player who’s good for a team.”

On the personnel front, there’s no change from last week. “Waldemar Anton and Enzo Millot were ill at the start of the week but are already back in training,” confirmed Hoeneß. Lilian Egloff remains sidelined by injury.