No magic formula for under-fire Bundesliga coach Veh

AFP - 28 October 2007 11:36

VfB Stuttgart coach Armin Veh, seen here during their group E Champions League with Lyon in Stuttgart, 23 October 2007, insists there is no magic formula - just hard work - to dig his team out of trouble after his side broke their run of five consecutive defeats.

STUTTGART, Germany (AFP) - VfB Stuttgart coach Armin Veh insists there is no magic formula - just hard work - to dig his team out of trouble after his side broke their run of five consecutive defeats.

The defending Bundesliga champions picked up a 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday to arrest their free fall down the league table.

Defender Andreas Beck scored in the 72nd minute at the Gottlieb Daimler Stadion as Stuttgart picked up their first Bundesliga points of the month and the win takes them up to 12th.

But three consecutive Champions League defeats have virtually ruled them out of Europe's elite competition and this has been a bad start to the season for Veh's side.

"Our situation is still precarious, so we are far from euphoric about the situation, I am a football coach not a magician," said Veh.

"It is obvious we have some big problems after our defeats.

"I wanted my players to show some fighting spirit and that is what they did.

"Now and again, you need a bit of luck, but sometimes you have to work for it and make your own."

Stuttgart welcomed back national midfielder Thomas Hitsperger after a six week break with a foot injury and Veh's side showed signs they are slowly regaining their confidence.

Meanwhile, league leaders Bayern Munich have the chance to open an eight-point gap at the top of the Bundesliga with their trip to mid-table Borussia Dortmund on Sunday.

There are injury concerns over star striker Luca Toni and French midfielder Franck Ribery, but a win for Bayern would open a substantial margin.

Second-placed Werder Bremen were five points behind Bayern on Saturday night after their 1-1 draw at Schalke 04.

"It was an intense game and both sides worked hard to try and get the winning goal," said Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf, whose side have lost just once in their last eight games.

"Both teams must be content with the result, but for us it was important we kept up our momentum."

An early free-kick by Carlos Grossmueller at Schalke's Veltins-Arena was cancelled out by a header from Bremen's Brazilian Naldo in an electric game with either side squandering numerous chances to steal the three points.

Also on Saturday, Hertha Berlin enjoyed a 2-0 win over VfL Bochum when defender Marcel Maltritz turned the ball into his own net in the first half before striker Marko Pantelic added the second on 35 minutes.

Wolfsburg are up to seventh in the table after their 3-1 home win over German Cup holders Nuremberg.

Bottom side Energie Cottbus drew 1-1 with Arminia Bielefeld thanks to an injury-time equaliser and Hansa Rostock drew 0-0 with fourth-placed Karlsruhe.

On Friday night, midtable Hanover and Eintracht Frankfurt thrashed out a 0-0 draw.