VfB Stuttgart coach Markus Babbel's position appears to be in jeopardy after the Bundesliga club suffered a shock 1-0 third-round German Cup defeat on Tuesday at second-division Greuther Furth.

Babbel was given a vote of confidence by Stuttgart's bosses only last week, but his cause has been further hit by this reverse, the club's fifth in a row, and the team's proximity to the relegation zone in the league.

"We wanted to win here and reach the next round, which we haven't done and the situation is not easy now," said Stuttgart's director of sport Horst Heldt when asked about Babbel's position.

"I do not know where I stand with the club now," admitted the coach himself. "If I hate one thing, it's losing, but now we have five consecutive defeats - this is a bitter and difficult situation. It is not getting easier, but I still believe in this team."

Stuttgart went behind on 32 minutes through midfielder Bernd Nehrig after team-mate Leonhard Haas Ein's pinpoint pass, and the 23-year-old's shot gave former Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann no chance.

With his job on the line, Babbel brought Belarus playmaker Aleksandr Hleb off the bench after 59 minutes, but the ex-Barcelona star's most notable impact was earning himself a yellow card on 70 minutes.

With time running out, both Romanian striker Ciprian Marica and 20-year-old replacement forward Julian Schieber went close, but could not prevent Stuttgart from slipping out of the German Cup, while Furth are in the quarter-finals.

Stuttgart's fellow Bundesliga outfit Cologne had no such problems as they saw off regional league side Eintracht Trier with a comfortable 3-0 away win to take their place in the last eight.

In Tuesday 27 October's other third-round matches, Bundesliga side Dortmund were also on the other end of a surprise result when going down 3-2 at third-division Osnabruck. Augsburg, meanwhile, put five goals without reply past fellow second-tier outfit Duisburg.