"Total trust in Manuel Baum"

Augsburg are preparing themselves for one final push this season under head coach Manuel Baum. They began their training week with an intense session on Tuesday, after which Sporting Director Stefan Reuter spoke to the media. On the supposed ‘crisis meeting’ on Monday: "I would like to refute that. That was not a long meeting, rather a totally normal working day. It was suggested that there was a meeting with the board of directors and that Manuel Baum was there, but that’s simply not true. Peter Bircks was there, Michael Ströll was there, but we all have offices in the stadium. From our offices we go about our daily business. We’re all very clear that we have total trust in Manuel Baum." On the current situation: "We’re all disappointed with the last few weeks and we expected more. The only thing that matters now though, is that we show a response on the pitch. We’ve always stuck together well when we’ve gone through difficult periods in the past and we’ll fight together to get out of trouble." On recent performances: "We’ve analysed the situation, but we’ve concluded that Manuel Baum is the right man for the job. We’ll see this through with him. The players need to take responsibility and work together to try to fight their way out of trouble. That would be a huge indication that the whole club is united behind Manuel Baum." On the plan for the run-in: "Everyone is aware that we’re in a relegation battle. Now it’s a question of mentality – if a one or two players aren’t giving 100% then we won’t get out of this. We need to re-find our togetherness and show a reaction on the pitch." On the preparation for Köln: "it’s not going to be a normal training week, because we know that in our current predicament, we have to change something. But what that will entail exactly, we’re going to keep in house with the team." On discontent amongst the Fans: "It’s completely understandable that there’s disappointment amongst the fans. As a former player I can say that there were always games for which I was really motivated and well prepared and gave everything and it just didn’t happen. Of course, our fans want to see that our players are fighting, running and not backing out of challenges – all of the players know that and we’ll continue to show this. I find the support of the fans unbelievable and everyone at the club needs to stick together through this difficult period." On the rest of the season: "Now there are only important games between now and the end of the season. We were in a similar position last season when we went to Bremen, but back then we only had 27 points. We had a lot of trouble in the first half, but then the team fought hard in the second half and recorded a very important away victory. Eventually we stayed up and we need to remember that now: the fact that we stuck together and reached our goal." On personal criticism: "It’s the most normal thing in the world. I’ve been in football long enough to realise that. When things are going well, everyone is by your side, but now, for example, people are criticising things that were going fine two weeks ago. You need to be able to accept the criticism during such phases without taking it too personally. We’ve had some disappointing performances, we’re at the bottom of the table and now we need to do everything we can to be successful again."