Bender: Finishing second is our goal

Borussia Dortmund midfielder Sven Bender insists his team are determined to reclaim second spot in the Bundesliga table.

Following a dreadful run of form prior to the mid-season break that saw them win just one of six league matches, Dortmund slipped to fourth.

But while catching table-toppers and European champions Bayern Munich – who are already 12 points ahead of Dortmund – looks beyond them, Bender says the club have set their sights on second.

Bayer Leverkusen (37 points) and Borussia Monchengladbach (33) are ahead of Dortmund (32), and Bender feels a return to their previously effective style is what is needed.

“We will give everything to reclaim second spot,” Bender told the club’s official website.

“We will have to focus again on what has made us a strong team: effective transitional play, aggressive defending, counter pressing.

“We will need to be 100 per cent physical and have the desire to go, for instance, from 2-0 to 3-0.”

Dortmund host the eighth-placed Augsburg in their first Bundesliga match of 2014, to be played on January 25.