VfB Oldenburg is four points behind the relegation zone ahead of the away game at Rot-Weiss Essen (Sunday, 3 p.m., RevierSport liveticker). VfB wants to score points in Essen.

Fuat Kilic has been head coach at VfB Oldenburg since March 12, 2023. And the soccer coach has given the promoted team renewed hope in the relegation battle after a long dry spell.

Under Kilic, VfB won three games, drew once and lost three matches. Not a bad record when you add in the performances and results prior to Kilic’s arrival. Under former coach Dario Fossi, Oldenburg went eight straight games without a win.

“In came to Oldenburg with the goal of saving the club from relegation. The team pulls along excellently, shows an excellent attitude and therefore gives me a very positive feeling. I see us on a good path,” Kilic judged in an interview with the portal “dfb.de”.

With five games to go, the team is four points behind the leaders. Before the game at Rot-Weiss Essen, the 49-year-old Kilic is convinced that it will remain exciting until the last matchday.

We have a final every week, that’s how we approach every single game. It’s right that we have the chance in this game to get closer to RWE and pull Essen back into the relegation battle. We will give everything for that.

Fuat Kilic

He says: “I was sure from the start that the decision would not be made until the last matchday. Nothing has changed in that regard. We are deliberately looking only at ourselves. If we continue to score as steadily as we have in recent weeks, then we have at least a realistic chance of closing the gap. For some teams, the performance curve is going down, for us it’s pointing up. That gives me courage.”

And what are the chances of a treble at the stadium on Hafenstrasse? “We have a final every week, so that’s how we approach every single game. It’s true that in this game we have the chance to get closer to RWE and drag Essen back into the relegation battle. We’ll give everything for that. “