"We need to remain fully focused" – Niko Kovac on the home straight | OneFootball

Niko Kovac on the goals for the final weeks of the season:“We haven't achieved anything yet. We have 55 points, which is two points fewer than at the end of last season. We still have nine games to play, so there are 27 points up for grabs. The other teams competing for these places can also pick up 27 points. To qualify for the Champions League and achieve our goals, we still need to pick up a few more points. We as the coaching team and staff will do everything we can to ensure that the lads remain focused. You could see that in training today as it was pretty intense.”

…training in the remaining weeks of the season:“We'll go back to the basics. It's about possession, defending and attacking. These are things we need to repeat because, over time, something gets lost with so many games. We need to refresh that, not only by studying videos but also out on the training pitch. We'll intensify the automatic responses that we undoubtedly have over the next few weeks.”

…competition for places:“It always depends on what I see in training. If your performance in training is good, you can be picked for the weekend, no matter how young or old you are. I'm happy with the lads' performance, including the young players. It's a competitive environment and, as I said, it's about getting the points we need because nothing has been decided yet. If there were only two games left and we had a big lead, we could talk about other things, but we're not going to do anything that doesn't make sense right now. We always do everything very carefully and on the basis of ideas we have, and we will continue to do so.”

…on Julian Brandt's departure:“Jule and I have a very good relationship. Jule is still here, he has nine games left to play, and if he plays like he did against Köln, where he got an assist, he'll play those nine games here at Dortmund. Our relationship was good, is good and will always remain good.”Recorded by Christina Reinke