Zorc: 'Dortmund are in a relegation battle'

Slowly, the players of Borussia Dortmund approached their fans after the defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Commerzbank Arena. Some whistles, but firstly the insults and the unpleasant gestures left the players dejected. The solidarity between players and fans at Borussia Dortmund has always been important, a huge emphasis was placed on this relationship. But now things have changed.

Lacking know-how

The club's slogan "Echte Liebe" - to mean "True Love" - has reached its first-ever crisis point. "We don't make it easy for them," said Dortmund coach Jürgen Klopp. "They're whistling - and that's completely understandable." It's just that Klopp always appears helpless to deal with the situation. In front of the journalists' microphones, he repeats the same sentences: We know where the problems lie and we're working to deal with them.

Recognizing problems is one thing, however, but dealing with them is another thing entirely. At the moment, it seems like the coach has lost his knack for making the right decisions and take the club in the right direction. The morale is at a low point and the first questions asked of Klopp were regarding a potential resignation. "I see myself in charge here," he said. "As long as there is nobody who says they can do it better, I can't go." Even the sporting director Michael Zorc wasn't interested in questions of Klopp's departure. "We're confident he'll take us out of this situation," Zorc said.

'The morale is at a low point'

The way, in which Dortmund presented itself in the match with Frankfurt was appalling. Dortmund dictated the game and had great chances to score, but like they normally always do. And almost always, Dortmund didn't score - the opposition did instead. The players don't appear to have the mentality to battle through setbacks, like going behind early in a match; they come across as being uncertain and almost scared.

The morale is at a low point. We're aware of the table position, it's a brutally difficult situation. But self-doubts are also wrong at the moment," said Dortmund midfielder Sven Bender. "If now we start hiding behind each other, then it will be extremely difficult." In these situations, players who can lead by example are badly needed. But even they aren't stepping up to the mark. On the contrary, Neven Subotic, Roman Weidenfeller and other experienced players are also lacking in belief.

"We are often at fault for the goals that we concede. At the same time, we don't take our chances. The glaring mistakes have built up so much that now we're in 18th place," noted Zorc, adding: "We're in the middle of a relegation battle. That needs to be clear to everyone and it should be the main conclusion from today."

'Self-doubts are also wrong'

Bottom of the table and desperately looking for self-confidence, Borussia Dortmund, more than ever, need a boost. In the relegation battle, other qualities and characterisitics are needed now more than ever, as well. How or whether this normally successful team can take on this task remains to be seen. But the first comments from the team in Frankfurt seem to give the impression that they have finally realized the severity of the situation. "Self-doubts are now wrong. We need to bring out our self-confidence again and show what lies inside us. Even if that sounds stupid," Bender added."If we pull out now, it'll be even harder. Everyone must give everything for each other. Everbody alone in a combat simply won't work."