Borussia Dortmund's Marco Reus hell-bent on UEFA Champions League spot after derby loss at Schalke
Following Borussia Dortmund's 2-0 defeat to local rivals Schalke in Sunday's derby, forward Marco Reus has issued a rallying cry to the club to finish the season in a UEFA Champions League place at all costs.
Reus played the full game for Borussia at the Veltins-Arena, and despite going close on a number of occasions, was left hugely frustrated at the final whistle of a Revierderby in which, by his own admission, Dortmund fell well below their usual standards.
Watch: Marco Reus on Dortmund's derby defeat
"Today we were just not good, and in the derby that shouldn't happen," said the 28-year-old dejectedly in his post-match interview with bundesliga.com. "We'll have to look at the game again, I know there's not much use talking now about it like this."
Falling behind in the first half in Gelsenkirchen, Dortmund rallied in the second and threatened an equaliser, only to see their bitter rivals seal victory when Naldo hammered home a free-kick late on.
The result leaves BVB trailing second-placed Schalke by four points in the standings, but coupled with Bayer Leverkusen's victory over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, the defeat means Dortmund are now fourth in the table on goal difference, with only a four-point cushion over RB Leipzig in fifth.
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With four games to play, qualification for next season's Champions League is by no means a given, and Reus revealed that only the end goal - qualifying for the competition - and not the means is what counts now.
"We have to make sure that at the end of the season we qualify for the Champions League, and I don't really care how that happens."
The Black-and-Yellows are next in league action at home to their neighbours in the table Leverkusen on Matchday 31, before playing Werder Bremen (away), Mainz (home) and Hoffenheim (away) to end the campaign.