Borussia Dortmund v Augsburg: Klopp uninterested in defending style

Borussia Dortmund’s style has come under the spotlight, but coach Jurgen Klopp was uninterested ahead of Wednesday’s clash with Augsburg.

Jurgen Klopp has no intention of justifying Borussia Dortmund’s style of play as his side attempt to move off the bottom of the Bundesliga against Augsburg on Wednesday.

Dortmund returned to league action on Saturday after the mid-season break and slipped to the foot of the table despite a hard-fought 0-0 draw at UEFA Champions League hopefuls Bayer Leverkusen.

Head coach Klopp and his side faced scrutiny for the way Dortmund played in that game, with the team struggling to create clear-cut opportunities.

However, Klopp was delighted to come away with a clean sheet and believes the players must remain patient in their bid to escape relegation trouble.

“Keeping a clean sheet away was a step forward,” he said ahead of the encounter at Signal Iduna Park.

“We all have to be ready for the small and especially for the right steps.

“I don’t think any other team has to explain their style of football in a relegation battle. I was very satisfied with the game.

“We could have played a lot more football in many moments, however that’s what I mean with small steps. It’s a matter of patience.

“It is our only task right now to collect points to stay up.”

There were no signs of the miserable run Dortmund would endure after 78 minutes of their reverse fixture with Augsburg last August as Klopp’s men opened up a 3-0 lead.

However, perhaps there were indications that all was not well as Augsburg threatened a fightback by scoring two late goals before Dortmund held on for a 3-2 victory.

Dortmund have won just three times in the league since then and part of their trouble has been due to a crippling injury list.

Those woes are set to be eased somewhat with Jakub Blaszczykowski (virus) and Erik Durm (adductor) in line to feature, but Ilkay Gundogan (thigh) remains a doubt, while Sebastian Kehl (shoulder) and Sven Bender (knee) are not yet ready to return.

In Augsburg, Dortmund face a side who are in contention for the Champions League spots and a 3-1 over Hoffenheim on Sunday left Markus Weinzierl’s men outside the top four on goal difference only.

Midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was delighted to restart the campaign with a convincing win, but wants no let-up at Dortmund.

“We want to have a good second half of the season and we’ve made a good start,” said the on-loan Bayern Munich man.

“But we’ve got another job to do on Wednesday.”