Borussia Monchengladbach coach Michael Frontzeck remained defiant after his side's latest defeat consigned them to bottom spot in the Bundesliga for at least the next month.

Last night's 2-1 loss to Hamburg at the Borussia Park Stadion was accompanied by numerous fans' protests, with Frontzeck and the club's board all in the firing line. However, Frontzeck has no intention of resigning and is already planning for the second half of the season, during which he hopes to get a bit more luck than he has had since August.

"Today's game was quite a reflection of the whole of our home games during the first half of the season," he said. "A lot was said in the build-up to this game about the character and attitude of my team and that they had given up, but I have never seen that.

"The team played a good game, gave a lot and created lots of chances without conceding many. But it was unfortunately like it so often in that our opponents needed very few chances to beat us.

A lot was said in the build-up to this game about the character and attitude of my team and that they had given up, but I have never seen that.
Michael Frontzeck. Borussia Monchengladbach coach

"Nevertheless, I cannot criticise my team for what they have done. I think it is going to be a very tough second half of the season and we will try to lift ourselves during the winter break. I think that we can still stay up."

Despite the loss, Frontzeck's job appears to be still safe after the club's director of sport Max Eberl told Sky television before the match that he would not be sacked in the event of a narrow defeat. The future of Hamburg coach Armin Veh had also been up for discussion leading up to the game, but he can enjoy a rather more relaxed festive period having gained a vital three points.

"It was important for us to win because we have similar problems to Borussia," he said. "We know how tough it is when you don't have any consistency. I think we are the two most pressure-laden teams in the league."