Podolski: I can understand boos

Cologne striker Lukas Podolski admitted the fans had every right to jeer following Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at home to Hannover.

The Germany striker has called for crisis talks after Cologne slumped to 15th in the table, just one place above the bottom three.

“We have all got to question ourselves, me included,” he said.

“We have a week and we have got to try to get our self-confidence back by discussing things.

“Otherwise, there’s no point even going to (Hertha) Berlin. We may as well stay here.”

Podolski joined Cologne from Bayern Munich for a club-record fee of 10million euros in the summer, but has yet to live up to the high expectations placed on his shoulders.

Around 45,000 fans turned up at the Mungersdorfer Stadion again, but were sent home disappointed with another lacklustre performance from their side.

“I can understand the fans’ disappointment,” said Podolski. “We were weak and deserved to lose. We showed absolutely nothing.

“You could see that our opponents mastered us and we did not play as a team. You cannot win games like that.”

Cologne travel to the capital next weekend for a true relegation battle with bottom club Hertha Berlin, who have won one game all season and are currently five points from safety.