Three games, three defeats! There was no lack of self-criticism at Arminia Bielefeld after their third defeat in their third second division match.

“We have to accept the task in this league. We were too far away on the second balls today and often only second winners,” said defender Bastian Oczipka after the 1:2 at Hansa Rostock on Saturday evening. “It is not our standard to perform like that here.” 1:2 at SV Sandhausen, 0:3 against Jahn Regensburg and now the defeat at the Ostsee: this is not how the East Westphalians had imagined their start after relegation.

“For me personally, this is a catastrophic false start, I have never experienced this in my career,” said new coach Uli Forte. “The biggest construction site is in the head. It will now be even more important to get into the players’ heads.”

Next Saturday, a difficult home game is on the agenda. The opponents on the Alm will then be Hamburger SV and thus the big favourites for promotion in the 2nd Bundesliga. Defender Frederik Jäkel knows the seriousness of the sporting situation. “Three games, three defeats, that can’t happen to us,” said the 21-year-old. “We have to go one better directly against HSV. It can’t go on like this, we know that ourselves. “