An optimal preparation for an important match certainly looks different. Before VfB Oldenburg’s clash against MSV Duisburg, the coach is being discussed.

VfB Oldenburg will face MSV Duisburg at home on Sunday (1pm). After only one win from the last 13 matches, VfB must win.

Why must they? Because otherwise the coach will probably be fired. Dario Fossi is under heavy fire from the North Germans. Even though his head of defence Oliver Steurer was still protecting the promoted coach before the MSV game, telling RevierSport: “It would make absolutely no sense to sack him. The coach is doing an excellent job here and is a top guy. We simply have to implement what he demands of us, then we will be successful again. After all, he can’t prevent the goals and score them. We are responsible for that!”

Those responsible around sporting director Sebastian Schachten probably see and have to see things differently. Because the motto here is: Everything for keeping the team in the league. And the coach is the weakest link. That the Duisburg game is a kind of final for Fossi can also be interpreted from Schachten’s words to the Bild newspaper. Schachten: “We are trying to make the best possible decision for the club. Dario is preparing the team in the best possible way for the game on Sunday. Our joint focus is on playing this match successfully.”

Should the match against Duisburg not be completed successfully, Fossi’s days in Oldenburg are likely to be numbered. The “Bild” is already bringing up two former Oldenburg players at VfB, Alexander Nouri and Benedetto Muzzicato, as possible Fossi successors.