VfL Bochum want to present a successor to Thomas Letsch “soon”. Now the new coach has apparently been found.

Heiko Butscher is to take over VfL Bochum on an interim basis. The 43-year-old was already under contract with VfL as a player and currently coaches the Bochum U19s. The “Bild” first reported the news and this editorial team can confirm it. As far as we know, there will be a press conference at around 2pm, with Butscher taking charge of training at 3pm.

In the remaining six games, VfL’s aim is to stay in the league. Three points separate Bochum from sixteenth-placed Mainz 05, and the lead has shrunk considerably of late. This was due to the fact that VfL failed to win their mandatory matches and repeatedly squandered leads.

The bitter highlight was last weekend’s 2-1 draw at 1. FC Köln, when the cathedral city side turned the game around with two goals in stoppage time. As a result, VfL coach Thomas Letsch had to leave

Patrick Fabian, Managing Director of Sport at VfL Bochum, explained: “We are aware of the merits of Thomas Letsch and Jan Fießer and would like to expressly thank them for their work. The emotional moments, especially after relegation last season, will always be associated with their names. In our current situation, we no longer have the conviction to make it in the previous constellation.”

VfL sporting director Marc Lettau added: “We have not managed to stabilize ourselves in the long term and make the past few games as successful as they could have been. Relegation is still within our grasp. The team has the quality to hold its own in the Bundesliga, which is why we want to provide a decisive impetus for successfully avoiding relegation with this change.”

Peter Stöger, currently sporting director at Austrian Zeitliga club Admira Wacker, was supposed to come. But on Monday evening, the preferred candidate for the succession was turned down: Peter Stöger will not be coming to Castroper Straße, the 57-year-old confirmed to the Austrian newspaper “Heute”.

“They called me yesterday evening,” Stöger is quoted as saying. “It was a great conversation. It would also have been very interesting and exciting for me. I thought about taking the job to get myself back in the conversation.” In the end, however, the short notice spoke against it. “Also because of the contract situation at Admira. “