Borussia Dortmund vs Wolfsburg - Watzke hopes Dortmund fans don't turn on wantaway defender Mats Hummels

Posted Friday, April 29, 2016 by PA

Borussia Dortmund general manager Hans-Joachim Watzke hopes the club's fans do not turn on Mats Hummels during this weekend's home clash with Wolfsburg following the announcement he wants to join Bayern Munich.

Dortmund revealed on Thursday that Germany international Hummels has informed the Westphalian club that he wants to follow in the footsteps of former team-mates Robert Lewandowski and Mario Gotze and join Bayern this summer.

That news has overshadowed Dortmund's preparations for the visit of Wolfsburg - a match which could see their hopes of winning the Bundesliga come to an end - but Watzke hopes there will not be any fallout among the supporters.

Watzke, whose side need to beat Wolfsburg and hope Bayern fail to beat Borussia Monchengladbach to keep their title bid alive, said on his club's website: "I would be pleased if the fans' disappointment does not turn into hostility towards Mats.

"He would not deserve that after eight and a half years as part of an extraordinary story.

"Furthermore, we are now on the final straight of the season and have lots to play for. This could still be Dortmund's best ever season in terms of points, and then we've got the chance to win a trophy when we face Bayern in the DFB-Pokal final on May 21.

"I can understand that many of our fans are disappointed - I feel the same way.

"However, it's important for me to point out that Mats has acted impeccably. He's always been open and honest with us."

Hummels' future is of no concern to Wolfsburg, who have a battle on their hands trying to qualify for Europe at all next season.

Defeat in Dortmund would end any lingering hopes they have of catching the top seven and their coach Dieter Hecking admits they have struggled to cope with the lofty expectations they established by finishing second last season.

"We're still learning to become a big club," he said in an interview with Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"In recent years, we've climbed from the relegation zone into the Champions League and last year we won two trophies (DFB-Pokal and German Supercup).

"We need to learn how to manage success. That is a thing clubs like Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus know how to do.

"We realised this season that we didn't learn to have hunger and continuity. It was important for us to do well in the Bundesliga, not in the Champions League because if you want to be big, you need a certain amount of continuity in your league results.

"Since we were not used to playing in the Champions League, however, we focused on that too much and this is down to inexperience."

Wolfsburg reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League, but with three games of the season remaining they find themselves in 10th place in the Bundesliga, six points behind seventh-placed Schalke and a berth in the Europa League next term.