The pressure is building on Lucien Favre and Dortmund
Is Lucien Favre no longer considered 'untouchable' at Borussia Dortmund following a poor run of form?
The pressure is mounting on Borussia Dortmund and head coach Lucien Favre after a string of disappointing results.
Dortmund have won just one of their last five games in all competitions, and opinions differ about the reasons for the mini-crisis: Are they lacking the right mentality or is it a question of quality?
While BVB captain Marco Reus recently lost his temper when asked if there is a mentality problem at the club, Roman Bürki admitted after Saturday's 2-2 draw with Werder that he would like to see a change in attitude.
"We need to be more aggressive in situations when it really matters, at set pieces for example, we need to do that both offensively and defensively. Our games are sometimes really nice to watch, but we lack killer instinct. We have a good mix in the team, but sometimes I would like to see one or the other showing a bit more aggressiveness," the goalkeeper said.
Axel Witsel rather thought that a lack of quality was the reason why BVB dropped points again.
"Oh man! It's not about mentality, but about quality. If you don't take your chances, you can't win a game like that," the midfielder said after the 2-2 draw.
Meanwhile, there are increasing worries about BVB coach Lucien Favre within the club, according to reports.
Bild reported a few days ago that the 61-year-old's position is 'no longer untouchable', and Kicker claims that there are internal doubts about his ability to motivate the team. The Swiss coach rarely raises his voice and is considered too calm and introverted.
Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc insists that Favre's position at the club isn't in question, though.
"We have no discussions about our coach," Zorc told Ruhr Nachrichten on Sunday.
"In the next six days, we have two important games in two different competitions which will show which direction we are heading," Zorc said ahead of Dortmund's upcoming games against Slavia Prague and SC Freiburg in the Champions League and the Bundesliga respectively.
Favre took over as Dortmund coach in the summer of 2018 and led 'Die Schwarzgelben' to a second-place finish in his first season at Signal Iduna Park.