Bremen (AP) – Coach Ole Werner from the second division soccer team Werder Bremen still believes in his team’s promotion to the Bundesliga after the surprising setback against Holstein Kiel.
“I have a great squad, a great character in the team – and now it’s against Aue,” said the 33-year-old in a digital media round.
“We need six points to have a realistic chance of going straight up,” said Werner. “I trust my team because I’m totally convinced of the quality of the players and I’m totally convinced of the character of the team.”
In this context, the coach recalled the 1-1 draw against bottom-placed FC Ingolstadt in February and the bad luck with injuries in defense in April. “What was said after that?” he asked. But Bremen then won at their two rivals Hamburger SV (3:2) and Schalke 04 (4:1). “We have reacted correctly to many setbacks in the past few months,” stressed Werner.
The promotion favorites lost 2:3 against Kiel last Friday despite a 2:0 lead and thus fell back in the table of the 2nd Bundesliga before the last two matchdays from a direct promotion place to relegation rank three. Werder still plays at FC Erzgebirge Aue and against Jahn Regensburg.