Hannover 96: Situation “probably no different with 1, 2 new players”

Among the weakest teams

A meager point and a goal difference of 6:12 from the past five games have dampened the sense of optimism in 2023 during the first half of the season at Hannover 96. In view of the negative sporting development and the fact that the Lower Saxony are now among the weakest teams in the professional leagues of the top nations, criticism of coach Stefan Leitl could also be heard from the club environment. While he and his team want to turn things around again at his ex-club Greuther Fürth on Sunday, sports director Marcus Mann took a clear position on the question of coaching, activities on the transfer market and the current crisis in the Reds.

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When it comes to analyzing the situation, the 38-year-old is also in constant contact with 96-managing director Martin Kind. “He, too, had hoped for something different and tried to help find the right path again through constructive discussions,” Mann said in the “Picture‘ newspaper quoted. However, people on Robert-Enke-Strasse would not think about a possible coaching debate. “No! I see Stefan working with his team every day. I don’t waste a second or thought on this subject. (…) Stefan is absolutely focused, worries a lot, continues to give the team a clear plan. He has a clear head in order to be able to assess things professionally and soberly. It is completely understandable that you make changes in order to achieve an improvement. We conceded nine goals in three games with the back three at the start of the second half of the season and seemed anything but safe,” said Mann, who at the same time demanded from the coach and the team: “We have to get our act together. (…) Setbacks are normal and were to be expected. But this setback now is too crass. It is a challenge to make the right adjustments and get out of the situation.”

Mann and Leitl had initiated a squad change at Maschsee last summer, in the course of which Hannover sorted out 14 players and brought in twelve new, mostly young players to 96 (overview). Mann also received a lot of praise and respect for his activities on the transfer market outside of the Lower Saxony state capital. When asked whether he had failed to strengthen the team currently under construction, which still had the second-best defensive in the league after the first series, in the winter transfer period, Mann replied: “The situation would also change with one or two.” Newcomers probably don’t portray it any differently.” The sporting leadership recently identified individual mistakes and lack of discipline as a decisive factor in the performance curve pointing downwards.

Mann said: “Of course we are working intensively on why it happened this way or whether we overlooked something. There will be no one special reason for this negative run. It is always an interplay of several factors that justifies such a series. (…) We don’t have the results because we made unnecessary mistakes this year and weakened ourselves with unnecessary dismissals. (…) We have lost the self-image of winning the game on our side. Safety and sovereignty are primarily created through results – we now have to work hard to earn them bit by bit.”

Hannover 96 sports director Mann: “Break the negative series as soon as possible”

“The preparation made us feel more stable than we really were. We slipped more and more into the situation from matchday to matchday. The main mistakes are more to be found in league operations than in preparation – and to be found,” continues the sports director, who warns that table 9. meanwhile also have to look down and be “extremely warned”: “We have to take the situation seriously and be aware of the danger, definitely. We’re in a bad streak that we need to break as soon as possible.”

Hanover currently has the fourth most valuable squad in the league. When asked whether the team had been overestimated or even overwhelmed with a view to the always high expectations on the leash, Mann replied: “No! In the first half of the season we managed to pull the games to our side and use the good phases more efficiently. In addition, we made far fewer clear mistakes. We’ve always talked about development and were perhaps even a step ahead of it. Now this development has suffered a significant dent. Something like that can be part of it, but we mustn’t underestimate the situation and must do everything to get the curve pointing upwards again. Everyone is challenged there.”

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