Hannover 96 vs Borussia Dortmund preview - Korkut given Hannover backing

Posted Friday, March 20, 2015 by PA

Hannover coach Tayfun Korkut has been given assurances that his job is safe, even if the Reds fail to pick up their first win of 2015 against Borussia Dortmund this weekend.

Hannover have slipped to within four points of the bottom three since the winter break, but although rumours are circulating as to who will replace Korkut, he has been given a vote of confidence by club president Martin Kind.

"It's certainly not going to be 'that's it' after this game," Kind said on Thursday.

That view was shared by the club's director of sport Dirk Dufner, who said that Korkut still has a future at the club, no matter what happens on Saturday.

"This is not a decisive game for the coach or for the team," he said. "Of course we know how big the pressure is and how important the game is."

Important but not decisive - that is also how Korkut views Dortmund's visit to the Niedersachsenstadion.

"After this game, things can go in one way or another," he said. "It's important that those in charge stick together in this kind of situation."

The same unity is what Dortmund need following their elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Juventus on Wednesday.

"When you ideally don't want to concede a single goal at all, and then your opponents score after only three minutes, of course it opens you up," said their coach Jurgen Klopp reflecting on Wednesday's painful defeat.

"I've seen it a hundred times before, but fortunately not so often with my own team. But this is football and you run yourself to death if it happens.

"I've now drawn a line under this game and already started to forget Juventus."

Dortmund now have nine games left to rescue their season with eight points separating them from the top six and a place in the Europa League next season.