Quote:Steve McClaren has been given a vote of confidence by German side Wolfsburg, despite the former England manager admitting they had "hit rock bottom".

McClaren's team were booed off after losing to Energie Cottbus in Germany's DFB-Pokal cup competition on Wednesday.

Wolfsburg have struggled since the Englishman took over in May and currently lie 13th in the Bundesliga.

But managing director Dieter Hoeness said they would be making changes to the team rather than the manager.

In a statement, Hoeness vowed: "We will clean up. With this team and its make-up there can be no long-lasting success."

The former Bayern Munich and Germany striker said McClaren would be given a new fitness coach, while players Karim Ziani and Caiuby would be dropped to the reserves.

McClaren had earlier admitted there were "problems in the dressing room".

Hoeness added: "We said eight weeks ago that the attitude should change. It was about passion, willingness to run and one-on-ones. We did not see a response so that is why we must act.

"We expect from the coaches (when the team meets on 2 January) to punish severely any wrong behaviour on or off the pitch."

Hoeness said fans should expect major changes to the squad after the winter break, admitting: "The road down which we will go may be painful for some of them."