BVB boss Kovac demands full commitment: "We haven’t achieved anything yet" | OneFootball

Out of the Champions League. Out of the DFB-Pokal. But their record in the Bundesliga is impressive. With second place and 55 points after 25 matchdays, Borussia Dortmund is eight spots and 20 points better off than last season. Yet Niko Kovac (54) warns: “We haven’t achieved anything yet.”

Last season, BVB finished fourth after a strong final sprint—with 57 points in the end. If FC Bayern Munich weren’t performing so impressively, who knows what might be possible for the Black and Yellows right now.

Despite the title train likely having left the station, Kovac demands that the season not be allowed to fizzle out. “We still have nine games, there are 27 points up for grabs. The opponents can also take 27 points. To reach our goals, that is, to get into the Champions League, we still need to pick up some points,” explains the head coach in a club interview.

“Keep the focus high”

He certainly won’t be loosening the reins, the football coach emphasizes. “We as the coaching team or staff will do everything to ensure the boys keep their focus high,” Kovac reaffirms his ambitions. He adds that he liked the attitude of his protégés in Tuesday’s training. “It was already pretty intense.”

Since the cup competitions are going on without BVB, there’s more time for training. “Getting back to basics,” as Kovac calls it. “It’s about ball possession, defensive behavior, attacking behavior. These are all things we need to repeat, because over time, with so many games, something gets lost.” Now it’s about “intensifying the automatisms that we undoubtedly have […] again over the next few weeks.”

Photo: IMAGO

Next Saturday (March 14, 3:30 p.m.), Borussia Dortmund will host FC Augsburg at their home Signal Iduna Park. The Fuggerstadt team has lost only two of their last nine matches, but won five. Kovac therefore announces he won’t be taking any risks. “We’re not going to do anything that doesn’t make sense,” the 54-year-old emphasizes. “We always do everything very thoughtfully, with ideas behind it, and we will continue to do so.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.