Following the start of training, VfL Bochum coach Thomas Letsch took a look at the current personnel situation. Three players are missing for the time being, two are still to come.
VfL Bochum kicked off their preparations for the Bundesliga in front of 1500 fans. After a relaxed session, coach Thomas Letsch talked about the coming weeks and new personnel, but also injury worries.
For Letsch, the first training session was about slowly getting back into the swing of things. “The ball was not yet the best friend of one or the other. But that’s normal when you’ve had a long break.”
From Thursday, he said, it would then be down to the content. “We want to use the summer preparation to become better and more flexible in all areas.” So the one focus should not exist.
“We have basic principles and we will stick to them.” Letsch lists: playing with and against the ball, standards and switching situations. “We have to make our idea of the game clear to the new players.”
To do that, he says, it is naturally beneficial to have everyone on board as early as possible. Newcomer Matus Bero is still with the national team and will start next Wednesday (12 July). The same applies to Takuma Asano, who is expected in Bochum on 17 July.
Two new players for the balance
Letsch, meanwhile, is generally satisfied with the current state of the squad. “Of course, we still need players especially in the defensive area.” There have been numerous departures there, such as the loaned Dominique Heintz and Keven Schlotterbeck, but also Vasilios Lampropoulos or Konstantinos Stafylidis.
“We still have to do something there, but otherwise it already looks good.” When asked how many new additions he would like to see, the 54-year-old replied: “We need at least two so that the balance in the squad is right.”
One of them will be a centre-back, the other position will depend on the type of player. Depending on what else is needed. “Until the training camp, it’s all about integrating the new players and then we’ll already get into the hot phase.”
That also applies to the expanded coaching team. “With Markus Feldhoff we have a great new member.” However, it will still take a while until the processes are coordinated, he said. “The footballing side is unproblematic, but you also have to get to know each other as people.”
For the time being, Manuel Riemann, newcomer Moritz-Broni Kwarteng and Philipp Förster are not part of the team. “Manu had problems during the runs in the home programme. It’s a muscle injury that will definitely put him out of action for the first week.”
An exact return is not yet certain, nor is it for Kwarteng. “The thing with Momo is that he still has problems in the pubic bone area. But we knew that. It’s a matter of not doing too much too soon.”
The same applies to Philipp Förster, who is still carrying his injury from last season. “The Achilles tendon is still causing problems.” Here, too, it is not possible to estimate when he will start training.