Steve McClaren wants strong reaction against FC Nuremberg
Steve McClaren, manager of VfL Wolfsburg, has stressed the importance of his side bouncing back from their defeat to Bayer Leverkusen with a win against FC Nuremberg when the sides meet in the Bundesliga on Saturday, 23 October.
The Englishman, who led Dutch side FC Twente to their first ever league victory last season, took charge of Wolfsburg this summer.
After suffering three consecutive defeats at the start of the German league season, his team won three out of four games before suffering a 3–2 defeat to Leverkusen on 16 October.
McClaren, who managed the English national team during their unsuccessful qualifying campaign for the 2008 European Championships, stated that a lack of focus caused his team to squander a two-goal lead.
"Mental strength is a major part of professional sport and we must learn from our mistakes and move forward," the manager said, adding that he has spent the week trying to learn from the defeat.
"The plan was to go through why we lost against Leverkusen. Concentration is often the difference between winning and losing."
Nuremberg just behind Wolfsburg in the table
Nuremberg handed Schalke 04 a 2–1 defeat on 2 October before losing 3–2 to FC St. Pauli, who was promoted to the German top flight ahead of the current season, two weeks later.
Dieter Hecking's team is 13th in the league with ten points, one behind Wolfsburg. McClaren has said that he expects a closely fought game on Saturday.
"Nuremburg will make things difficult for us. However, our own game is more important. I expect a strong and positive reaction from my team. The next two games are very important for us."
After their trip to Nuremberg, Wolfsburg face Victoria Hamburg in the German Cup before hosting VfB Stuttgart on Saturday, 30 October.
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