Kovac: Dortmund have shown they have quality to turn season around

New Borussia Dortmund head coach Niko Kovac believes his new team showed they have the quality to turn their season around after their displays during Mike Tullberg’s interim reign.

Kovac was confirmed as Dortmund’s new boss last Sunday, succeeding Nuri Sahin, who was relieved of his duties following a four-game losing run across all competitions.

Interim coach Tullberg oversaw three matches, earning a draw and a victory in the Bundesliga while also sealing the club’s progression to the Champions League play-off round.

His final game in charge saw Dortmund beat Heidenheim 2-1 thanks to goals from Serhou Guirassy and Maximilian Beier, but they remain 11th in the Bundesliga table.

Kovac’s first game in charge of BVB comes this Saturday, with Stuttgart the visitors to the Westfalenstadion in the Bundesliga, and he is aiming to build on the club’s recent results.

“What has been positive is the last three games. You can see that the team has the necessary qualities. For me, the team is really good,” Kovac told a press conference.

“There is a lot that has to do with self-confidence. Yes, there was a phase recently where things did not go well, but the last three games were great.

“Mike really did it well, and we all thank him for that. The players have seen how sweet it is to win,” Kovac added on their matches under Tullberg.

“Wins are the ones that lift your confidence. You need that as a player and what was is no longer important. What is and what will be is the most important thing.

“We are in 11th place, and we next have a big game at home against Stuttgart.

“We want to win it to take that next step forward. To bring Dortmund back where they belong, which is the top.”

Kovac most recently took charge of fellow Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg before being sacked in March last year after a run of poor results.

Indeed, Kovac is winless in his last 11 Bundesliga games (drawn five, lost six, all with Wolfsburg), his longest drought as a Bundesliga coach.

However, eight of Dortmund’s last nine coaches were able to win their first league match in charge, with only interim boss Tullberg failing to do so (2-2 v Werder Bremen).

Kovac does have Bundesliga pedigree, having led Bayern Munich to the league title in 2018-19 as well as the DFB-Pokal in the same season.

The 53-year-old acknowledged the difficulties of taking over Dortmund in the middle of the campaign, and plans to instil confidence into the squad during his early tenure.

“Clearly, this is not an ideal situation, but you cannot always expect to have a summer pre-season preparation or winter preparation,” Kovac said.

“We will not invent everything again. The players know a lot of things already. It is about giving them this confidence, because every player needs it.”