Watzke tells Bosz to ´turn every stone´ in Dortmund revival bid

Borussia Dortmund head coach Peter Bosz has been told by chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke to urgently improve the team’s recent results.

Bosz made an encouraging start to his tenure at Signal Iduna Park after leaving Ajax to replace Thomas Tuchel.

But a sharp downturn in form has seen the team win just once – against Magdeburg in the DFB-Pokal – in their last 10 fixtures, including Saturday’s remarkable draw with Schalke, when they let a 4-0 lead slip.

Dortmund have failed to progress to the knockout stages of the Champions League and are fifth in the Bundesliga, eight points behind leaders and title-holders Bayern Munich.

Bosz’s position has come under mounting scrutiny in recent weeks and Watzke, speaking at the club’s general assembly on Monday, issued the coach with a stern warning.

“The expectations on you and your team are that you have to put everything to the test in the following days and to turn every stone,” he said.

“We have to come back to success quickly. That’s 100 per cent clear.”

Heute findet die Hauptversammlung der Borussia Dortmund GmbH & Co. KGaA in den @Westfalenhallen statt. Die beiden Reden der BVB-Geschäftsführer Hans-Joachim Watzke und Thomas Treß werden auf https://t.co/mYWSzO7SLX ab ca. 11.30 Uhr live gestreamt. #jhv2017 pic.twitter.com/3Z7WMZIfDd

— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) November 27, 2017

Bosz was furious with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after the star striker was sent off for picking up a second bookable offence at home to Schalke in a dramatic Ruhr derby.

Watzke, though, defended the Gabon international, who was suspended by the club for disciplinary reasons earlier this month and is being heavily linked with a move away.

“To be honest, I don’t like the way Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was treated in previous days,” said Watzke.

“We had some good talks last week and [against Schalke] I’ve seen an Aubameyang who gave his very best, his absolute very best.

“Maybe this was the reason for his red card because he wanted to show that he’s completely back. I’ve never questioned that. 

“We had a talk last week and we clearly said that he’s completely with us and I’m happy about that. In plain language, how often has Aubameyang saved our bacon with his goals?”