Veh looking to run with the Wolves

Armin Veh said that the pressure is on as the successor to Felix Magath at German champions VfL Wolfsburg, telling uefa.com it is "not a normal situation and a very difficult one too".

Shock success
Magath moved on to FC Schalke 04 after leading the Wolves to their maiden Bundesliga title – indeed, their first significant piece of domestic silverware. The task of mounting a defence, and leading the club into the UEFA Champions League group stage, has gone to the 48-year-old Veh who won a similar shock domestic title with VfB Stuttgart back in 2006/07.

High base
Veh – who will, in Magath's preferred English style, be both coach and sporting director – is well aware that he has been left with an extremely hard act to follow. "Taking over a championship-winning team is not a normal situation and a very difficult one too," he told uefa.com. "I usually help teams to improve, but this team already has a very good structure in place."

'Second home'
The first challenge the new coach faced, however, looks to have been met successfully with forwards Grafite and Edin Džeko – who scored 54 Bundesliga goals between them last term – both in harness for the new season. Brazilian Grafite, 30, signed a new deal committing himself to the club until 2012, and insisting that Wolfsburg had become "a second home".

Milan offer
The 23-year-old Džeko also remains at the club, with Veh refusing an offer from AC Milan for the Bosnian. "Selling him would make no sense at the moment," he explained. "For the money offered, we would struggle to get a player of a similar standard and it would give the wrong message to the rest of the team if I let him go."

Džeko resigned
Although known to be less enthusiastic than Grafite about staying in the city known as the home of Volkswagen automobiles, Džeko will remain with the Wolves for the foreseeable future as he is under contract until 2011. "Although Milan was my dream, it's not as if I wanted to go there because I don't like it at Wolfsburg anymore," he said. "I want to challenge for the league again and am looking forward to the Champions League."

Extra cover
Thus far, Veh has made only one signing – €4m Danish midfielder Thomas Kahlenberg, 26, from AJ Auxerre – but while he believes Wolfsburg's 30-man squad is too big, he has further reinforcements in mind. "We will definitely sign a striker like Grafite and Džeko," he said. "We have to be able to rotate players, especially in the Champions League, without sacrificing quality on the pitch."

Not impossible
A second successive title success, however, is not one of Veh's priorities. "The title was deserved, but no one can seriously expect us to defend it," he said. "That might happen at FC Bayern München but not at Wolfsburg." Instead his goal for the season is "to survive the group stage" in Europe and "finish in the top five" in Germany. A tall order, but not impossible.