Kovac: Dortmund showed they have the quality to turn the season around

New Borussia Dortmund coach Niko Kovac said his team has shown it has the quality to turn the season around, after games with interim coach Mike Tulberg.

Kovac was appointed as Dortmund's new coach on Sunday, replacing Nuri Sahin, who was fired after a run of four defeats in all competitions.

The team was temporarily led by Tulberg and in three games they achieved two wins and a draw. Dortmund also qualified for the Champions League play-offs.

Kovac will make his debut on the Dortmund bench on Saturday at home against Stuttgart in the Bundesliga.

"What has been positive are the last three games. We can see that the team has the necessary quality. For me, the team is really good. A lot of it has to do with confidence. Yes, there was a phase recently when things weren't going well, but the last three games have been great," said Kovac, as reported by beIN Sports.

"Mike did a really good job and we are all grateful to him for that. The players saw how sweet it is to win. Wins boost your confidence. You need that as a player, and what was is no longer important. What is and what will be is the most important," added the 53-year-old coach.

Dortmund is currently 11th in the Bundesliga table.

"We have an important home game against Stuttgart. We want to win and take a step forward. To put Dortmund back where it belongs, at the top," said Kovac.

Kovac also said that it is difficult because he is taking over the team in the middle of the season and that he plans to instill confidence in the team.

"It's clear that this is not an ideal situation, but you can't always expect to have summer or winter preparations. We won't reinvent anything. The players already know a lot of things. It's important to instill confidence in them because every player needs that," he added.

Kovac has been out of work since last March, when he was fired by Wolfsburg after a series of poor results.

During his career, he coached Eintracht, Bayern Munich, with whom he won the title and the Cup in the 2018/2019 season, and Monaco. He was also the coach of the Croatian national team and the Croatian youth national team.