DFB Cup: Goalkeeper's fiery speech - Simonis remains Wolfsburg coach

Paul Simonis is set to remain coach of VfL Wolfsburg even after the embarrassing cup defeat to Holstein Kiel. The Dutchman will be on the bench for the next Bundesliga match against 1899 Hoffenheim on Sunday (5:30 p.m./DAZN), sporting director Peter Christiansen confirmed on Tuesday evening after the 0-1 (0-1) defeat to the second-division club.

"Yes, he's our coach. We want to work through this period together with Paul," Christiansen said.

However, there are apparently even deeper reasons for Wolfsburg's current twelfth-place finish in the Bundesliga and their elimination from the DFB-Pokal after the second round. In a fiery speech after the Kiel match, goalkeeper Marius Müller denounced serious attitude problems within the team. Captain Maximilian Arnold had already hinted at this, along with a lack of cohesion, in recent weeks.

"If you try to throw everything in too late and if you try to play it a bit loose with 70 or 75 percent beforehand, then it's going to be difficult. Then you won't win any games in the 2nd division, not in the 3rd division, and not in the Regionalliga either," said Müller. "What is quality? A very big part is mentality and attitude. Do I want to win games, or do I let everything go? Things are going too smoothly for us at the moment, that has to be said quite clearly."

When asked whether things were still going well within the team, the goalkeeper said: "Hopefully that should be the case." Was he still sure about that? "I won't say anything about that."

Müller's clear message is: "You have to achieve this turnaround now through real hard work. It's no longer possible to gamble here, gamble there, and play a little La Paloma. You have to verbally slap yourself in the face now."

The 32-year-old confirmed that the issues had already been addressed internally. "It's not like we come here every day and don't give a damn. Even if it sometimes seems that way on the pitch."

When asked about his own influence, Müller, who at VfL is merely the representative of the actual number one, Kamil Grabara, said: "What am I supposed to do? Should I just punch the players in the face? Then I can go over to the factory and pick up my contract. There's nothing more you can do than address it and kick the guys in the ass during the week."

Sporting director Christiansen didn't deny Müller's assessment. "Marius Müller has a good feeling about this. If he says so, then it could be true," said the Dane.

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