Dortmund coach Kovac wants quick decision on Schlotterbeck future
· Yahoo Sports
Borussia Dortmund coach Niko Kovac has called for a quick decision on the future of centre back Nico Schlotterbeck at the club but he is confident that the German international will stay.
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Schlotterbeck has a contract until 2027 and is yet to say if he wants to extend it. Should he opt against it Dortmund could only generate a transfer fee for him this summer, which would also affect the whole of squad planning.
Kovac said on Thursday that "all of us would be happy if it is off the table soon. It is up to him."
Talks are reportedly scheduled over the next days and Kovac is confident that Schlotterbeck won't leave.
"I'm still confident. He's an important part of this team, a great player, a great character, a leader that we need, that every team needs," he said.
Kovac was speaking ahead of Saturday's Bundesliga match at lowly Cologne where Dortmund want to return to winning ways after losing 3-2 against leaders Bayern Munich which effectively ended their title ambitions.
Bayern are now 11 points ahead and Dortmund have an eight point cushion in their bid to return the Champions League but Kovac has urged the team to deliver.
"We want to score points. We want to win every game. That is our goal," Kovac said.
"The tension must not be allowed to slip. The lads know that, and we are training accordingly. We are not allowing ourselves to think that 99% will be enough to get us through."
Dortmund have no more mid-week fixtures after last week's Champions League, and Kovac said they would "make good use" of the additional training time.
"We did that last season too, when we performed really well in the last 10 games," Kovac said.
"We can now put some things back on the agenda that we had to neglect due to the lack of training time. I hope that these elements will then also be clearly visible in the game."