Wolfsburg hit new low after latest Bundesliga loss: “The club isn’t healthy.”

Stuttgart—VfL Wolfsburg’s season plumbed new depths on Sunday as a 4-0 humiliation at the hands of VfB Stuttgart left the club anchored to its worst-ever points haul after 29 years in the Bundesliga, intensifying speculation over head coach Daniel Bauer’s future.

Speaking to DAZN minutes after the final whistle, Bauer cut the figure of a man who knows the axe could fall at any moment. “The same mistakes keep recurring,” he said. “We did put up a fight. It’s not as if the boys aren’t trying. The fact is that we need to change structures. The atmosphere and culture within the club are currently not suitable for the Bundesliga. We need to reconsider the entire framework.”

The 45-year-old, who has never previously coached in Germany’s top flight, later admitted that internal reviews are already under way. “Some processes have been set in motion,” he noted. “But this is a very difficult path and things take time. Football is still a results-oriented sport. All that matters is what takes place on the pitch.”

Wolfsburg were overrun inside the opening 45 minutes at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, conceding three times before the interval. Bauer rang the changes at the break, introducing three fresh faces in a bid to stem the bleeding, but a fourth Stuttgart goal arrived nonetheless. “We had problems with a lot of things we worked on in training this week,” Bauer conceded. “It was a brutal first half. Our reaction in the second half was less about tactics. We tried to throw everything in there, but it wasn’t enough.”

Asked whether he expects to be in the dug-out for next Saturday’s relegation six-pointer against Hamburg, the coach replied: “I hope that I’ll be permitted to coach the team next week against HSV, but I’m not the one who makes those decisions.”

Club stalwart Yannick Gerhardt, deputising as captain for the injured Maximilian Arnold, pulled no punches in his post-match interview. “I’m the one who has to find the words and I can’t explain it,” the 30-year-old said. “Things are just not good. The club isn’t healthy. We can’t live up to our potential. The discrepancy between expectations and reality is too great. We’re fighting for survival. Even if what I’m saying is hard to believe, we won’t give up until the very end.”

The result leaves Wolfsburg still searching for a first victory since early February and entrenched in the relegation playoff place with six fixtures remaining. For a side that has never dropped out of the top flight since promotion in 1997, the prospect of a historic relegation is no longer an abstract fear—it is an looming reality.