Borussia Dortmund general manager Hans-Joachim Watzke does not see his club's targets for the season in jeopardy, despite their worst start since Jurgen Klopp took charge.
With just seven points from their opening seven matches, Dortmund - in 13th - are already ten points behind Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich. Only six points separate them from second-place Hoffenheim, though, and Watzke insists that is where his side are still aiming to end the season.
"We declared a clear objective before the start of the season and I cannot see any reason to revise this," Watzke said in Kicker magazine. "We want to qualify directly for the Champions League and I'm convinced that we will succeed."
Watzke admits their current points' tally is "absolutely unsatisfactory", but believes the team have not actually been playing all that badly. "I don't think we've made any major mistakes in truth," he said. "I prefer to speak of an accumulation of mishaps which have led to us not working perfectly."
Dortmund's next game after the international break is in Cologne while they then host Hannover before travelling to Bayern on 1 November.
Source: FIFA.com