Kovac remains philosophical on Dortmund Euro hopes
Niko Kovac says Borussia Dortmund's European hopes are in its own hands after his side's stunning victory over Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga.
An eight-minute surge at the end of the first half was enough to earn Dortmund a 3-2 win to leave it just two points off Mainz, which occupies the final European spot in the league as it stands.
Kovac praised his side for its recent performances, which have included a spirited 2-2 draw away to Bayern Munich and a 3-1 victory over Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League second-leg match after a heavy defeat to the LaLiga giant away from home.
"The team's development is positive," Kovac said.
"We're stable, we're consistent. Now let's ignore the 4-0 loss in Barcelona, but against [Bayern] Munich and Barcelona here, today against a really strong opponent - Gladbach aren't where they are at the moment for nothing."
Despite the recent resurgence, which has reignited hopes of European football for yet another season, Kovac does not want to look ahead to the end of the campaign and instead wants to focus on developing his side game by game.
He said: "We've developed well, but it's not over yet. And we don't want to see what happens in two or three weeks' time, but in a week's time against Hoffenheim. That's the most important thing.
"We have to win this game and then see what happens in the next one. And it's all about us and I want to instil that in the team somewhere every day.
"Because looking somewhere to see what the others are doing is something we've already done over the course of the season since I've been here.
"The others haven't always done everything to perfection either, but we haven't been able to earn points. That's why the focus is on us and at the end of the day, on May 17th, we'll know more, the Gladbach team and us, what the bottom line will be."
