Werder Bremen manager Horst Steffen has firmly denied reports suggesting the club is unhappy with the training performances of Nigerian striker Victor Boniface.

Boniface, who joined Bremen on loan from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, has endured a slow start to the campaign and is yet to score in nine Bundesliga appearances. 

His lack of goals sparked speculation in some quarters that the coaching staff were displeased with his output in training.

However, Steffen dismissed the rumours during his pre-match press conference ahead of Bremen’s home fixture against FC Köln, questioning the credibility of the reports.

"Who comes up with the idea of making such a statement? There are quite a few ways not to observe training," he was quoted as saying by Weser Kurier.

"Therefore, I don't know where this is coming from. I don't want to say much more about it."

The manager stressed that he avoids publicly evaluating players’ daily training efforts unless there is a specific reason to highlight outstanding work.

"It's not my intention to comment on individual training performances,” Steffen continued.

“Sometimes I mention it if someone has earned something special. But generally, I don't want to evaluate and publicly comment on every training session," he added. 

Boniface enjoyed a standout debut season with Bayer Leverkusen before suffering injuries that limited his impact in subsequent campaigns. 

As he looks to rediscover his goalscoring touch at Werder Bremen, the club’s head coach has moved to protect the forward from unnecessary speculation as the season progresses.

Adeyemi Adewale