Cologne coach Stale Solbakken has warned there are tough times ahead for his struggling side as they battle to avoid the drop.

Yesterday's 2-0 home loss to Bayer Leverkusen was Cologne's sixth defeat in their last seven Bundesliga matches and left them just four points above the relegation zone with 11 games left.

"There are going to be difficult times for us," Solbakken said. "This is going to be a test for the club. How strong is the club? Can we stick together? Can we protect the players?"

Despite the team's poor form, Cologne striker Lukas Podolski does not believe Solbakken should fear for his job.

"It cannot always be the coach's fault," said Podolski, who returned from injury yesterday. "I recall that the coach was brought here to build something so he should be given the time to do that.

"We are used to this from recent years and we know what to do - we are fighting against relegation."