The situation at Eintracht is precarious.

Fifteenth in the table with eight points from nine games: That is by far not what the strategists from the city forest had imagined.

It is the so far fair reward for the ups and downs that the team shows.

Coach Oliver Glasner and his many helpers have still not succeeded in giving the troops a clear identity, a clear signature.

What does unity actually stand for?

For intoxicating attack football?

For controlled defense?

At the low blow in Bochum, almost nothing of this was to be seen. The 0: 2 against VfL was well deserved, and it makes it clear: Eintracht is deep in the mess, surrounded by clubs that you thought far behind. But apart from the relegated climber Greuther Fürth, meaningfully the next away opponent, teams like Augsburg and Bielefeld are within striking distance. Bochum even passed Frankfurt.

Three weeks ago the away win at Bayern, then the defeat against Hertha, followed by the European Cup highlight against Piraeus - and now the crash deep in the west: The fickleness of Eintracht is currently the only constant in this football autumn. And it raises questions: Did the club sign the right players with the required mentality in the summer? Is the structure right in the team, in which everything was turned inside out and set to zero by the new managers?

It is like an oath of disclosure when coach Glasner now says that his team was not ready in Bochum. Unity has not shown natural virtues that are required to keep an unpleasant, combative opponent at a distance. It has literally been a miss to roll up one's sleeves and fight defeat with might. Most of the duels won went to VfL - a facet that is worrying from Frankfurt's point of view.

The brave Eintracht, relying on the supposed arts of individuals like Kostic and Kamada, has missed the right attitude from start to finish.

Captain Sebastian Rode was the only one from the playing staff who openly addressed this grievance and warned of further adversity.

Rode is right: Eintracht needs a quick, sustainable course correction.

The current high in the Europa League cannot cover up the shortcomings in the Bundesliga.