Sahin holds his hands up after Stuttgart thrashing but insists on change

Nuri Sahin has admitted that some of the blame rests with him after the weekend’s 5-1 defeat at the hands of Stuttgart, but also wants to see a big difference from his players when they take on Bochum on Friday.

“It happened,” the 36-year-old said in his pre-match press conference. “But we’re looking ahead now. We don’t need to sugarcoat anything.

“We’ve clearly addressed and analysed all the situations. Nothing went right for us at the weekend. I wasn’t at my best in the game either.”

Bochum have taken just one point from their opening four Bundesliga matches, but the billing of the match as the ‘mini Revierderby’ will of course up the stakes.

“Of course, we need a reaction,” continued Sahin. “We want to show a completely different face on Friday and win the game. We have to give our answers [on the pitch]. We have a duty to live up to our expectations.”

Dortmund currently sit in eighth position in the table, with two wins from their opening four league games.