Niko Kovac has his back to the wall at VfL Wolfsburg. Without a turnaround, the head coach, who only came in the summer, will not be able to stay in office much longer. With Thomas Reis there is apparently already a shadow man for Kovac.

Purely in terms of budget, VfL Wolfsburg is a team that would have to play to participate in the European Cup. And the claim, which is also reflected in the squad policy, is also in the club. With Niko Kovac, a coach was hired in the summer who has gained experience at the very highest level both as a player and as a coach.

De facto, however, there is nothing to suggest that VfL will fly high. With a measly five points, only VfL Bochum is worse off in the Bundesliga table so far. VfL of that same country recently parted ways with head coach Thomas Reis - according to SportBild, this is now Niko Kovac's shadow man in Wolfsburg. While Kovac is still there enjoys the dedicated support of Managing Director Sport Jörg Schmadtke, the actual administrative level of the club (led by the financiers of the VW group) is said to have great doubts about the hitherto hapless Kovac. According to the report, those responsible have already chosen Thomas Reis as a top candidate for the possible successor to Kovac. And although Schmadtke wants to stick with Kovac, the crisis in Wolfsburg cannot be dismissed out of hand. After the international break, the team must now show that a positive development is possible; otherwise - and this is now an unwritten law in the industry - the head will have to roll off the coach.

This article was originally published on 90min.com/de as If Kovac has to go: Reis' top candidate at VfL Wolfsburg.