Klopp admits Dortmund have hit 'rock bottom', says season starts now
Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp said his side had hit "rock bottom" after Saturday's 1-0 defeat at home to Hamburg.
The northern Germany side had not won a single match all season before being invited to do so at the Westfalenstadion by a side who are struggling to strike the right balance between their Champions League and Bundesliga commitments.
In just two Champions League outings against Arsenal and Anderlecht, Dortmund have picked up six points. In seven Bundesliga matches, they have only seven points.
"Say and write what you want and ideally we will gain something from this situation to make sure things are different in future," Klopp said at the post-match press conference.
"I can see that the lads want to do things, but sometimes they can't and that's not particularly cool.
"We've now got to accept all the criticism that comes our way, even the unjustified stuff.
"Criticism should be helpful and should not lead to you feeling worse. We think we've identified the problem, but resolving it is something else.
"Today is October 4 and this is rock bottom, and the starting point for the remainder of the season."
The next fortnight gives Klopp and his team plenty of time to work on eradicating their weaknesses.
It also gives them time to get back some of the players they have sorely missed this season, such as Marco Reus, Nuri Sahin and Ilkay Gundogan.
"Gundogan's training fully with the team now and he'll be a full part of the squad after the international break," Klopp said.
"Reus is going to be training normally soon too while Henrikh Mkhitaryan needs just three to five more days.
"Sooner or later, everybody will be back, but then it will still come down to form."
That, in view of results so far this season, is still lacking.
"We've got players who can perform to their best on some days, but not on others," Klopp said.
"There are some players who are new here and they aren't used to playing every three days and being favourites to win every time."
