Dortmund (AP) – Marco Rose had little desire to whitewash. Looking back on his eight-month tenure at Borussia Dortmund, the football teacher was remarkably self-critical.

“We failed to excite people, to really take them with us, to create euphoria,” he frankly admitted before the Bundesliga duel on Sunday (5:30 p.m. / DAZN) against Arminia Bielefeld. . He added resolutely: “The identification with the team suffers. It is our job and our duty to turn the tide.”

The first BVB-Aus in Europe and in the cup

The modest run of the season so far with embarrassing early knockouts in Europe and the DFB Cup has also left the ambitious coach disillusioned. He openly addresses the question of mentalities which was taboo for many of his professionals: “I don’t just talk about football. I’m talking about looks, charisma, body language, tackling, dynamics – all the things we want to bring onto the pitch. We have rarely done that this season.”

In the last ten games of the season, Rose, 45, and his professionals will therefore have to dispel the growing doubts and position themselves for the upheaval of the summer. In the club management’s long-term plans to rebuild the squad, the Leipzig native continues to play a pivotal role, despite the occasional call ‘Rose-Out’ from the fans during the poor 1-1 draw at Augsburg two weeks ago. Club boss Hans-Joachim Watzke recently cleared all doubts via ‘Sport Bild’: “Marco Rose is not available at Borussia Dortmund under any circumstances.”

Rose comments on the upset

Rose, who moved from Mönchengladbach to BVB with high expectations last summer, explained how he imagines the change needed: “I think you might need two or three transfer periods to be able to react to the things that happened over the months. Adjust things in the team, change the team structure, change the personality structure. »

Referring to the lack of quality of individual professionals and the high injury susceptibility of his current squad, he added: “We have to try to improve the quality in certain positions. And then of course there is the big problem of availability. Players physically and mentally capable of delivering matches every three days.”

Significant personnel changes are considered inevitable. Professionals like Axel Witsel, Roman Bürki, Thorgan Hazard and Nico Schulz could leave the Bundesliga runner-up after the end of the season. Also, top players like Erling Haaland or Manuel Akanji should be hard to keep. According to the latest information from the ‘Daily Mail’, striker Haaland is set to move to Manchester City. Akanji is said to have rejected an offer from BVB to extend his contract, which expires in 2023, and is also said to be flirting with a move to the English Premier League.

Süle comes from FC Bayern this summer

Revierclub made their first statement with the free transfer of national defender Niklas Süle from title rivals Bayern Munich. In addition, names such as Nico Schlotterbeck (Fribourg), Noussair Mazraoui (Amsterdam) and Boubacar Kamara (Marseille) are exchanged.

The U19 players, who are currently doing well in the UEFA Youth League and making the quarter-finals for the first time against Atlético Madrid on Wednesday, are also increasingly in the spotlight. “We have a lot of interesting guys in our U19s. I think it’s exceptional that they made it to the quarter-finals of the Youth League,” Rose commented, but cautioned against expecting too much: “The leap from youth to men’s football is incredibly big.”